Fiery Mane and Shadowy Scales
by waveringshadow
Summary: After first HTTYD and after Brave movie. When Merida meets a strange young boy in the forest, she thinks nothing of it. She soon discovers that he has a bigger role in her fate then she could have ever imagined. Both stuck on opposite sides of an old blood feud, can they unite the two worlds? Or will their worlds collide in an epic explosion and fall to pieces?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. It's my first time doing this, so I apologise in advance for any silly mistakes. I am a HUGE HTTYD fan and I love Brave as well. I thought it was a cute crossover. Quick warning; my life can get hectic pretty quickly so I may go from posting numerous chapters in a day then go for weeks with no spare time whatsoever. First chapter is short, and is just setting the scene, but hope you enjoy it anyway. Also, this is a P.O.V. story.**

**Disclaimer:****Just in case you thought otherwise, I don't own How to Train Your Dragon or Brave 2012**

* * *

_Merida_

It was finally dark.

I pulled the dark blue hood over my head, concealing my tell-tale siren locks. I picked up my bow from the end of the bed. Concealed by the growing darkness, I glided down the hallways, with only the whisper of my dress against my cloak to give me away.

It was getting harder and harder to get time to myself; Mum was getting restless.

Since the whole bear episode, she's been happier, freer, more relaxed. But time has taken its toll. She has kept by her promise. I am to find a suitor in my own time. However, as time has gone on, I still have taken no interest in men, of any kind. Mother is worried. She sees a grown woman with girls' dreams.

I am content with my life as it is. Single and free to do as I please. I never want to give myself away to another. _Especially_ a man.

As I snuck out of the castle gates, I gave a small wave to the lethargic guard who I had given a few coins to keep silent about my nightly shenanigans.

Technically, I was still allowed to do this, but mother had become suffocating, watching my every move, insisting she came with me wherever I went, constantly reminding me of my duties back at the castle. This is not what I wanted. This is not the fate I chose.

Silently, sneaking past the snoring stable boy, I grabbed Angus and his gear, leading him out into the moonlit night. _This_ is what I yearned for. A horse, a bow, and the land stretched out in front of me, filled with endless adventure and opportunity.

I jumped up onto Angus, and pushed him onwards, into the night.

* * *

**There you go. I hate having silly errors, so please let me know, and I'll do my best to fix them (once I figure out how). If you like my story, or anything in it, pretty please let me know. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**More setting the scene. Stick with me. Something will happen. At the moment the point of view is changing every chapter, but that will change eventually. Thanks! Enjoy.**

* * *

_Hiccup_

"Okay, so that could have gone better."

Toothless gave a funny little snort of agreement.

We were stealthily flying in the cover of night, with only the moon, and Toothless' night vision, to guide us.

Honestly, being popular is not all that it seemed. I was finally wanted, accepted as the chief's son. However, the chief's son had duties, duties that I was not trusted enough to do before. I was meant to lead, show the path for others, and that was fine- with dragons. I can deal with dragons, people, on the other hand, are not my forté.

Still, life could be worse. I had Toothless, he was a constant in my life which, as I was soon discovering, is a rarity.

We were going on a night flight, hoping to escape the call of ongoing duties. Night was Toothless' favourite time. Darkness was his ally.

I may have made a teensy mistake.

It wasn't my fault, not really. Well, maybe a little bit.

Because of my affinity with dragons, and my non-existent affinity with people, I had been assigned to dealing with the dragons in the village. There was some conflict between two neighbours and their dragons. I was called in to help.

And I brought Snotlout. Astrid and Fishlegs were busy, it was either him or the Twins. Still, not my best move.

Snotlout had to bring Hookfang, of course, and when things got heated between the two dragons (in more ways than one), Hookfang joined in.

And burnt down half the village. Sigh.

At this point, Snotlout decided he wasn't really needed anymore and left, with Hookfang. Leaving me standing alone in the ashes, waiting for the lash of my dad's fury.

And, oh, was it grand.

Toothless mad a soft gurgle underneath me. I looked down, and found that we were no longer flying along ocean, but were now above land.

A land I had never seen before. Interesting.

I changed Toothless' tail position and we swooped down to investigate. We landed in a small clearing. The vegetation seemed greener here, the land less harsh, with not as many rocks. Jumping off Toothless, I walked to the edge of the clearing, looking around me. No, I had never been here before, this could be fun.

Toothless let off a low, rumbling growl.

"What is it bud?"

At that point I heard a pounding noise that sounded a bit like a heard of yaks stampeding, but more isolated, as if there was only one creature making the noise.

I guided Toothless into the foliage behind me, then ducked down next to him, lying in wait, and in wonder.

* * *

**Yeah I know, not very exciting. I'm getting there! Once again, please inform me on any mistakes, or anything you liked. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, a little more happening this time. Not a lot to say other than enjoy!**

* * *

_Merida_

Suitors, suitors, suitors. Blech! Not that Mum has actually mentioned the word. However, men of high status kept just 'appearing', and Mum would give offhanded comments like;

"Isn't Lord McVealan a stunning fellow? You know Merida, it's rumoured he can kill twenty men with only his left hand. And he's right handed!"

Well in that case, I'll take him. He sounds wonderful! To Mum's disappointment I've never taken the bait.

She's tried warriors, artists, performers, prophets, philosophers, the lot! But to no avail.

Angus leapt over a log and turned abruptly to the left. I hadn't been down this track before, which is strange, because I've spent the large majority of my life in this forest. I shrugged and bent further forward, enjoying the wind in my hair. Just as we reached the end of a clearing, Angus came to a skidding halt.

Not this again.

I didn't fall off this time, and it wasn't the stone circle. Well, maybe it was nothing after all. Angus gave a nervous snort and started back tracking. I readied my bow, placing an arrow on the string. Oh dear, please don't let it be another bear. I'm rather tired of bears.

I heard a small murmured voice, and then a figure appeared. A boy, with a slight build, and dark hair, though I couldn't see the colouring in this light. Angus continued nervously prancing.

"Angus, it's just a boy. Honestly, stop it!" I murmured to him in a hushed voice. I kept my bow up though. Then the boy spoke.

"Oh, wow!" He looked at Angus and me in awe, then he saw my raised bow.

"Don't shoot, I come in peace!" His accent was strange, I had never heard it before.

"Come in peace? Come from _where_?"

"Err, that way." He pointed vaguely behind him. Hmm, curious.

I studied him closer. He was wearing a green, long sleeved top and a fur vest. Dark trousers and large fur lined boots. Oh, hang on, boot. His left foot was missing! It was replaced with a strange metal contraption, much more sophisticated than my father's peg. I wonder what the story behind that is. Probably not as exciting as Dad's, but at least it would be a fresh story.

"And your name?"

"Hiccup."

"Bless you."

"Uh, pardon?"

"I thought you sneezed?"

"No, no."

"Well in that case, mysterious young boy, with a strange name, from over there, I am Merida. Welcome to the forest of DunBroch. I hope your journeys are successful, but I must be on my way. I would think we would never meet again, but fate is a very difficult thing to tame." _Very difficult._

I turned a still prancing Angus back into the forest, and started back towards the castle, leaving the boy standing alone, watching in stunned silence.

* * *

_Hiccup_

Well that was bizarre. As I watched the last trace of flaming red hair disappear into the trees, I beckoned to Toothless. I leapt up onto him and rode him up into the starry sky. It was time to do some exploring.

The beast she rode didn't look like a yak. Definitely wasn't a dragon. Actually now that I thought of it, I hadn't seen a trace of the fiery reptilians anywhere. Strange.

As I flew I came across a village. Up the hill from the village was a great big stone monstrosity. As I looked at it closer, an old memory sprung to mind. A castle. Trader Johan had described something like this. It was where people of very high status lived. A bit over the top if you asked me.

Kings, queens. Those were often the leaders of these societies. This was amazing.

Forgetting all about the troubles I came here to escape, I raced Toothless back home.

When I finally pulled myself through the door of my hut, Dad glanced up from sharpening his battle axe.

"You were out for a while."

"Err, yeah, guess I was. Hey Dad you'll never gue-"

"Now Hiccup, we need to have another discussion about your responsibilities, being heir to the chief."

"But Dad I-"

"No, this is important. What could be more important than the village?"

"Nothing Dad, of course, but just now-"

"Being a chief, you must have control over those around you. You must know the right man for the job. That is how you build a strong tribe. Without that, chaos ensues. Today-"

"DunBroch!"

"What?"

"Today, just then, Toothless and I landed in the forest of DunBroch. And we met a girl there, armed with a bow and astride a beast. Nothing as fancy as our dragons but still…"

"DunBroch? Really? No that can't be right. Are you sure?"

"Well, the girl clearly said forest of DunBroch. She had a strange accent though, and bright red hair."

"Red hair?"

"Yes, why-"

"Where? Where is it? What direction did you fly?"

"That way," I pointed, "north-west. Why? Do you know where it is? What it is?"

"Never you mind that, son. Odin's beard! I need to go." He barely gave me a glance as he shot out the door.

Huh.

* * *

**In case you hadn't figured it out, Hiccup has never seen a horse before. Merida has never seen a dragon before either so that should eventually even out. The fact that a Viking has seen a yak before, but not a horse is beyond me, but that is the way these things go sometimes. Next chapter is almost ready.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, new chapter. This one explains the relationship between the Scotts and the Vikings. Not thrilling, but informative. Have fun!**

* * *

_Merida_

"Now tell me; Vikings, who are they?"

I sighed. Ick. Though there had been a considerable decrease in the amount of lessons I had, Mum still insisted on them. I need to know about the world around me, apparently. Personally, I'm quite happy here in Scotland.

"Rumoured warriors of the south-east. Strange stories of mythical beasts. Dragons in particular."

"Good, but they're more than just a rumour Merida. They did exist. However, it is questionable whether they still do."

Now this was more interesting.

"Why, what happened to them?"

"They're home islands were attacked. In the stories, there is mentioned winged beasts, dragons, but I think it was by people even fiercer and more violent than themselves. Or perhaps just brainier. They weren't the smartest of creatures. Now, what was our relationship with them?"

I shrugged, I really didn't care.

My mother sighed in despair, then continued.

"The Vikings were enemies of the Scottish. Except for one tribe. The Hairy Hooligans. They were on friendly terms with us, perhaps even allies. Especially with the DunBroch clan. But things changed."

"Really? Please tell."

Mum gave me a withering look, before returning to her story.

"Unfortunately, Vikings will be Vikings, and the Hooligan tribe was no exception. Things became strained. The Hairy Hooligans refused to support us against the Viking raids. There was even some evidence that they were doing some of the raiding, using there supposed friendship as cover."

"Oh? And?"

"Your great-great-great grandfather Seorac demanded they proved their allegiance, or left forever."

"And how were they to prove their allegiance?"

"Marriage."

"Of course," I snorted.

"Merida! A princess does not snort like a common swine!"

"Aye Mum, get on with your story."

She gave me a burning glare, peering down her nose at me.

"Well, the Hairy Hooligans didn't like the idea of their only heir being married to a 'sickly' Scottish princess, and made no effort to hide it. By this point, Seorac had had enough. He withdrew completely from the Hooligan tribe."

"Okay, lesson over. Can I go now?"

"I'm not finished!" She snapped, then went straight back into lecture mode.

"In anger, one of the tribe's most celebrated warriors came to Scotland. He demanded that Seorac remembered his place, that he had a little faith in his Viking counterparts. Many offensive words were exchanged, and it ended in a duel."

"Oooh, who won?"

"Seorac, of course, but he was gravely injured. He was never the same after that fight. The Hairy Hooligans refused to apologise for the wounding of Seorac, and Seorac refused to apologise for the death of their warrior. Since then, the Vikings have had no contact whatsoever with us, and we have since presumed their demise."

"Well that was a nice story."

"Stories are lessons Merida, they ring with truth."

I sighed.

"Aye, I know that now Ma. Not easy to forget."

"Good girl Merida." She eyed me, I was bouncing in my seat.

"Oh alright, you can go now."

"Thanks Mum! You know I love you!"

"Of course you do sweetheart."

* * *

_Hiccup_

Dad had been out for hours, and came in very late that night. I was now sitting at the table, chewing on a slab of bread, waiting for Dad to get up. Toothless had his face buried in a large basket of fish.

"You know that was breakfast _and _lunch."

Toothless gave me a quick glance, made a dismissive grumble, and then went back to stuffing his face. All well. We're not short on fish.

There was a bump and a muffled clunk from upstairs. Ah, here was my chance. Dad slowly climbed down the steps. He took one look at me and sighed.

"No."

"Oh, come on Dad, we're dying to know." At this point Toothless had finished eating, and turned around to face us. He sat on his hind legs and put on his most attentive expression.

"See?"

"I said, no."

"Fine I'll go ask them myself-"

"That won't be necessary. You are not to go back there. That place you found- it is nothing. An insignificant speck in the vast ocean."

"And Berk isn't?"

"No it is not. Do we seem insignificant to you?"

"Errr…"

"Oh, never mind." Dad rubbed his face, and started piling his plate with food.

"Dad you know me. You won't be able to keep me away from that place. I have a dragon."

"What if I disabled Toothless' tail?"

"One, that's mean to Toothless, and secondly, I'd just borrow Stormfly, or one of the other dragons, until I built a new one"

"Oh gods, why did they have to give me a son with brains?"

"Dad, you don't really mean that. Unless you mean to say you want another Snotlout around the village?"

"No, you're right. What do you want?"

"I want to know what that place is, since you seem to know, and I want to know why it could be a problem. I _am _the chief's son you know. I do have responsibilities to my people."

"Now you're just messing with me."

"I would never! Well, maybe a little bit. I still want to know what's going on."

"Oh alright, you were going to be told eventually anyway." He sat down heavily onto the chair opposite to me with a sigh.

"Many, many years ago, us Hooligans were quite close to the clans on that land. We were closest to a clan that went by the name DunBroch."

Aha!

"Yes, and what happened?"

"Other Viking tribes discovered the riches of this land, which was named Scotland. There used to be a lot more of us, you know. Anyway, we were accused of being part of that group. They declared that the chief's son was to marry their princess, or we were to become dead to them. We, of course, refused to such an atrocity."

"Yes, I'm sure they were the atrocious ones." I inwardly rolled my eyes. Dad ignored me.

"But then the real outrage occurred. Sven the Barbaric travelled to Scotland himself. Despite his best attempts to negotiate, it fell on deaf ears. He was then slaughtered in battle with the DunBroch clan leader, Seorac. Since then they've been dead to us, and us to them."

"Red hair. You seemed to react when I said red hair."

"Yes, I suppose I did. Seorac and his family were famous for their flaming red hair."

"You have red hair Dad. I doubt you're related to Seorac."

"True, but it does seem a bit of a coincidence. You're probably right, it doesn't mean anything."

"How, come I've never heard any of this?"

"Scotland should be non-existent to us. That is the way it is. Only the elders are told the story, for leadership purposes."

"But it was so long ago, surely things are different now?"

"Some things never change."

"What about the dragons, Dad? They were our worst enemy. Now they're our closest allies."

"No. I see where you're going with this, but no. You are not playing peacemaker again. Last time I lost a piece of you, I don't want to lose the rest."

I glanced down at my missing foot. He was kind of right, that was painful, but I doubt I would have to face another giant fire-breathing monster to get across to the DunBrochs.

"Alright Dad. I'll wait, but I'm not giving this up, not when I haven't even tried yet."

The huge Viking glared at me, his mouth full of food.

I just gave him a quick grin, then raced out the door to the smithy, Toothless hot on my tail.

This was not over. Not even close.

* * *

**Just remember that on both sides the stories are a bit distorted and don't really match up. The next update will probably take a lot longer as I haven't started yet and I'm running out of weekend. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yayy. Next chapter complete. This chapter is a bit of a build up for the next few chapters. Please enjoy!**

* * *

_Hiccup_

I spent the rest of the day helping Gobber out at the smithy. Dad had dropped in a couple of times, probably to check I wasn't out plotting, or whatever he thinks I spend my days doing.

Except I _was_ plotting. While I kept my hands busy, I was forming a plan. I wanted to know more.

From my last visit, I'd found where the King and Queen lived (I hoped), but there was not a single trace of any dragons, good or bad. This time I wanted to have a proper search, see if the land was indeed completely void of my fire breathing comrades.

When I finished assisting Gobber, I told him I was off to fly Toothless, which was the complete and utter truth.

Gobber gave me a funny look, he knew me too well.

"You be careful now. I don't feel like rescuing you from another one of your messes today, I have other plans."

I scoffed.

"When have I ever needed saving?"

He opened his mouth to reply, before I interrupted him.

"Actually, no, don't answer that. See you tomorrow!"

I gave a low whistle to Toothless, who had been rolling in a nearby patch of grass. He loped over and I jumped on, heading out in the opposite direction of where I really wanted to go.

Once I was out of sight of the village I changed our route, turning back in right direction, back to Scotland.

* * *

I'd spent a few hours looking in all the typical places you would find a dragon, but didn't find a trace of them. Hmmm.

While we were there we took a quick look at the castle, but it was still day light, so we couldn't get too close.

We didn't see anything useful, except perhaps three young red headed boys, running back from the village with an extremely mischievous way about them. I would bet my right foot that those boys were related to the girl in the forest. But relations of Seorac? Not so sure.

Toothless didn't quite understand the point of this exercise, but didn't object when we went fishing afterwards. After he had had his fill, we flew back to Berk, just as the sun was setting.

When I landed, Astrid was waiting for me. Even in the fading golden strains of the lingering sunlight, I could tell I was in trouble. I braced myself. She spoke first, flicking away her fringe, which was forever getting in her eyes.

"Alright, you're up to something. You have that look on your face."

"What look? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't play innocent with me, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Sigh. Now I knew how my dad felt.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but let's go somewhere a bit more private first."

"Fine." She took my wrist and dragged me down to the dragon training ring. I gave Toothless an exasperated look. He just peered at me innocently and followed. Then she whirled around to face me, twisting my wrist in the process. _Ow._

"No one's here. Now spill."

I explained everything to her while rubbing absent mindedly at my wrist, already feeling I would regret this. She listened silently, betraying very little emotion. When I finished she gave a slight nod.

"Aha, and what's your plan?"

"Nothing more insane than normal. You know, the usual. Go behind everyone's back, befriend the enemy, almost get killed, and then emerge with a powerful ally- hopefully- if I don't get stuck in the almost get killed part," I said dryly.

"I say we just blow them to bits with our awesome dragon taming skills," a voice interrupted.

"Yeah! That will show them not to mess with us."

Yup, I was regretting it.

"Hello- Ruffnut, Tuffnut. Anyone else eavesdropping with you?"

"Nope, oh wait, Barf, Belch, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Meatlug and Hookfang," Tuffnut informed me.

Great, the whole gang. Well done me. Very discreet.

I quickly went back to the problem at hand.

"No. We are not blowing them up. In fact _you_, won't be doing anything. This is my problem."

"Yeah right, and let you have all the fun?" Snotlout interjected, walking in with Fishlegs, followed by their dragons.

"Oh it will be a lot of fun alright. Meetings, politics, negotiations- I probably won't even have time to fly Toothless. Actually I won't have Toothless at all. He'll have to stay hidden. They don't seem to know anything about dragons."

Snotlout pulled a face at me, but didn't say anything else.

"Sounds just like my sort of mission," Fishlegs commented, "in fact, I think I'd be quite useful."

"And don't think you can put me off that easily," Astrid added.

"We're excellent negotiators," Ruffnut informed us with a nod of her head.

"Yeah, if they don't cooperate, we destroy their entire village," Tuffnut said,

"And if they do cooperate, we only destroy half their village," Ruffnut supplemented.

The Twins gave each other a high five, then Ruffnut twisted and slammed Tuffnut onto the ground and they started wrestling. I turned to the others, not even bothering to sigh.

"Fine. We leave first thing tomorrow. I'll show you the way then."

Astrid and Fishlegs nodded, Snotlout gave me a friendly (I think) punch, and the Twins continued wrestling. Then we all streamed out of the training ring, dragons in tow.

I went back to my hut. I swiftly packed my things, and snuck back outside again. Dad was still out and about, probably doing chief things of some sort. I hopped onto Toothless' back again, and flew straight back to where we just came from. No way was I dragging those guys into this. They'd start a war.

We arrived back in the clearing where we had first landed, where we met the girl with fiery mane. After a hastily put together dinner, for both Toothless and I, I pulled a blanket out from the bag I had packed, and curled up next to Toothless. It may not have been the most comfortable, but at least it was warm.

Toothless sighed and quickly drifted to sleep. Lying next to him, I stared up at the stars, listening to the strange sounds of a foreign forest. Tomorrow, the real quest begins.

* * *

_Merida_

I sat at the dinner table, slowly working my way through my meal, while I watched Dad devour his.

"So Merida, you learn anything useful today?" He asked jokingly, his mouth full of food. Mum was distinctly ignoring us, favouring some form of paperwork instead.

"Oh, yes. I learnt all about Vikings. Very insightful."

Dad chuckled.

"Bastards. The lot of them."

"Fergus…" Mum gave a low warning, never lifting her eyes from the letter she was reading.

I laughed with him. Bastards indeed.

"Do you think they still exist Dad? The Vikings?"

He considered for a moment.

"Nahh, they were too stupid to live for long. I bet they died out hundreds of years ago."

I nodded. Dad was right. Vikings were dead, long gone.

But there was a niggling thought in the back of my mind, slowly surfacing, before being pushed back under; _how do we really know?_

* * *

**Well, there you go. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a comment. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again. Chapter 6 is complete. I must say this has been a lot of fun so far. Thank you so much to those who reviewed, favourited and followed, and I hope that there are many to follow. **

**A quick note: This story will probably remain Hicstrid (sorry to disappoint). I tried to make it Merricup, and it almost was- I had it written and everything- but I couldn't do it. It goes against my very being as a HTTYD fan. Sorry again to those who were looking for Mericcup.**

**Also, in response to a review about Hiccup's lack of armour, it will all become clear in good time. This takes place somewhere between the first and second movie, so it won't have huge mention of the second movie, at least not yet.**

**Thank you, and enjoy.**

* * *

_Astrid_

Damn that Hiccup. We'd been waiting for ages now, the sun had almost climbed halfway up the sky. He's done a runner. Typical. The question being; which way did he run?

The twins were in the middle of a staring contest and Snotlout was lecturing Hookfang on something completely irrelevant. Fishlegs was reading The Book of Dragons (again) adding to the notes he and Hiccup had made, while pretending to judge the Twin's staring contest.

Tuffnut slapped Ruffnut.

"Ha! You blinked, I win!"

I groaned and turned to look out over the sea. I have no idea which direction he went. Argh. Hiccup was leaving me with little choice. Looks like I'll have to make the step he was unwilling to take.

"Alright, seeing as Hiccup is obviously not coming, it's time we came up with our own plan."

"Err, but Hiccup always comes up with the plans," Ruffnut pointed out.

"Yes, and his plan was to leave us here while he flew off and saved the day."

"That's not a very good plan," Snotlout told me.

"No, no it isn't. We're not going to be as stupid as Hiccup was, we're getting help."

"I thought we were the help?" Fishlegs questioned.

"Yes, but that's because Hiccup was too stubborn to ask for anyone else's help. But not us."

"I'm not sure I'm liking this," Fishlegs informed me.

"You don't have to. Let's go find Stoick."

* * *

_Hiccup_

I woke slowly, the cloak of darkness and dreams slowly unravelling, retreating back to the realm of my subconsciousness, leaving me vulnerable to the new day. I groaned, lazily trying to rub the crook out of my neck.

Toothless gave a sleepy grumble and rolled over, dumping me onto the grassy, but surprisingly hard, ground.

With a moan, I started packing my things into Toothless' saddle bag. Toothless pulled himself up from the ground, and shook the last traces of sleep from his body. Then he looked up at me expectantly.

"Ok bud, here's the plan. Firstly I try and make myself look presentable, then we find a place to hide you, and after that I head for the castle." Toothless gave an annoyed grumble to the fact that he couldn't stay with me in a possibly hostile environment.

"I mean it. Remember what happened last time you jumped in and saved me when you were meant to be hidden?" He gave a funny groan, and nuzzled apologetically at my prosthetic leg.

"I know, I know, you didn't mean to hurt me. I'm grateful, really. Just don't repeat the incident, okay?" He moaned and rocked back onto his hindquarters, watching me attentively.

"Good boy. Come on, let's go."

* * *

After a short period of walking, we came across a stream. Toothless leapt around joyfully, catching fish for his breakfast. I pulled out a leftover piece of bread and munched on it, watching him play. Then I gave myself a quick wash and tried to smooth down my hair, which was poking out in every which direction. It was a hopeless cause.

Nearby the stream, I found a little place that looked like it used to be a cottage, but had since fallen into disrepair, somewhat violently, by the looks of it. However, there was a notch where someone had set up a shelter from pieces of the destroyed building. This would do just nicely. Toothless could fish and drink from the stream when he felt the need, then reside here. Toothless gave a sad croon and looked up at me with desolate eyes.

"No, you are staying here. I'll be back to visit as soon as I can. Now stay." With another gloomy gurgle, Toothless plopped down on the ground, watching me miserably.

"That's a boy. Remember to stay out of sight, and be nice. I'll see you soon."

And with that I turned resolutely in the direction of the castle and started walking.

* * *

_Merida_

Colours morph and bend. Shadows deepen and lengthen. I twirl faster. The sky swirls into a multi-coloured vortex. My head screams, overwhelmed by the onslaught of colour and sound. I keep spinning. Then, with a squeal of joy, I collapse, overcome with a fit of laughter. I don't giggle. Giggling is for weak limbed lassies.

Angus pricks his ears at me, slightly confused by my outburst. We're on the edge of the forest, still in sight of the castle, but far enough that I can pretend it's not there. Mum doesn't want me taking off on my own anymore, so to appease my mother and get time to myself, this was the best I could do. But when I spin, I can't see them, I can exist in my own world of light and colour. However, my body can only withstand so much spinning, so I was now stuck back in the present. It was not a nice feeling.

Instead, I started to whirl softly, dancing on the balls of my feet. I've been well educated in courtroom dances (to my dismay), but this was something softer, freer, lighter. Sure, it wasn't the most elegant, but it was fun. I was completing a final twirl when I heard a thud behind me, and a soft curse.

I curiously looked in the direction of the source of the noise. I found a very familiar looking boy, flat on his face. He sat up and I instantly recognised him. He was fiddling with his prosthetic leg, giving off many curses that I was unfamiliar with, not yet noticing my presence.

"This cursed leg, don't stop working now, you stupid piece of metal."

"Er, excuse me boy with the strange name, from over there, may I ask what you are doing here?" He looked up at me, startled, still holding his leg in his hands.

"Oh, umm, hi! I was just, uh… Hiccup. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

"Oh, Hiccup. That makes more sense." Well, a little more sense.

"So, Master Haddock, you still haven't answered my question."

"It's a long story."

I just looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"One that's not best suited for now. You wouldn't happen to know who lives in that castle now, would you?"

"Aye, I would."

"And that would be?"

"The King and Queen, head of clan DunBroch, as well as their family."

"Say if one wanted to enter the castle and talk to the royal family, what would one need to do?"

I smirked.

"Why they would just need to come with me."

"May I?"

I eyed him. He was still in a heap on the ground, looking at me hopefully. Green eyes. He had pure green eyes. How strange. He was quite lean and gangly, not as muscly as many of the men around here. He was definitely no warrior. Yet he had a way about him that seemed to mark him as a leader.

Ack, why not?

"Oh alright, come on you clumsy cripple." He froze, and gave me the most curious look. I rolled my eyes.

"It was a joke. Come on." He scrambled into an upright position and started after me and froze again when he almost ran into Angus.

"Tell me, what is this beast?"

I looked at him in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you've never seen a horse before?"

"A horse. How long did it take for you to train him?"

What a curious question.

"Well, he came to me already trained. He's a real sweetheart. Not the most courageous, but he gets me where I want to go."

"How strange. You didn't train him yourself, and he is fully committed to you?"

"Well some days it is a bit of a struggle between me and the food bucket, but mostly he's committed to me."

"Huh."

"Huh."

And with that I started leading the strange, naïve Hiccup to the castle, with Angus in tow. Little was I to know that that was only the beginning of many stranger conversations.

* * *

**And now the interesting things start happening. If you didn't work it out, Toothless' new found hiding place is the remains of the witch's cottage. Thanks for reading and please, please, please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! Sorry I took so long this time. School has been hectic (tonnes of RE homework yaay!). To be fair, this is also the longest and most involved chapter I have written so far. **

**Also I wanted to quickly add to my comment in the AN in the last chapter. I really don't have a problem with Mericcup and I definitely don't think HTTYD fans can't love Mericcup. I just struggle writing it, due to my own personal feelings towards HTTYD. Sorry again. **

**Enjoy reading (please!).**

* * *

_Hiccup_

The castle loomed over us, the towers reaching high into the clear blue sky. I followed the girl- what was her name? Marie? Mira? Merida. That's right. She walked at a very fast pace with her bow slung over her shoulder and her quiver at her waist. I was struggling to keep up, especially with my leg playing up. So I stumbled along behind her and her _horse._

We came to a large gate at the fortress wall.

"So, we just waltz in through the front door do we?" I asked, hobbling as I tried to keep pace with her.

"Yup, why wouldn't we?"

I glance at her then, curious.

"Tell me, what is your relation to the King and Queen of Scotland?"

She eyed me cautiously, as if getting ready to gauge my reaction.

"I'm their daughter."

"_What?!_"

She huffed and rolled her eyes at me, muttering something under her breath.

"Now don't you go and start grovelling and calling me 'your highness' and all of that nonsense."

"I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing." My head was whirling and I was having extra trouble with my leg. So she must be a relation to Seorac after all.

Well at least we seem to be on good terms. For the moment.

She looked at my expression and gave an exasperated sigh, but then my leg caught on a rock and I nearly fell over, again. She eyed me, trying not to smile. Then, seeing my face as I tried to compose myself, she exploded into a bout of laughter, chortling away, leaning on the horse for support.

"You daft creature you," she remarked, almost falling over herself, "don't you think I look like a princess?

"Well, err, I…."

This just made her laugh harder. Well at least she wasn't offended.

"Well, to be honest, I don't really know what princesses are meant to look like."

"I suppose you haven't met many?"

"No. I haven't."

She pulled the horse into a stable and started taking off his gear.

"What's his name?"

"Angus. I should take you for a ride sometime, if you're still around later."

"I would like that." I smiled at her. How hard could it be? I was the first dragon rider, a horse shouldn't be much trouble.

"Hey, by the way, what happened to your leg? If you don't mind me asking."

I looked at my fake leg and shrugged.

"Oh that. That was the result of a tragic accident involving a butter knife."

She snorted, and her hand flew up to her mouth in surprise. Then she threw her hand back to her side.

"Screw it, Mum isn't around to hear," and she gave another little laugh. I just stood there, slightly confused.

Finishing with Angus, she started to head towards the castle.

"Come on you. Time to meet my parents, and hear that long story of yours. I suppose now would be a better time to tell it?"

"I guess so." I was getting nervous; now was the point where I started the path to peace, or to war.

* * *

_Stoick_

"Absolutely not!" I tried to rub the knot of tension located on the bridge of my nose.

Astrid sat in front of me, with a very familiar look on her face. I had seen my son wear it many times.

She requested that we went after Hiccup, who had, of course, run off to make friends with the Scots, and supported him, whether it was in making peace or war.

Of course, he'd managed to keep Scotland a secret for the sum of one night.

"Look Astrid. I'm worried for him. I really am, but charging over there with our dragons and an army will not help him."

"I'm not suggesting we take an army. Just me and the other dragon riders, but of course we'll take the dragons."

"Yes, I admit that would be better, but I still do not want to send you kids over to a hostile country in chase of my renegade son."

She scoffed.

"We have proved over and over again that we are capable, Stoick. We really do not need to have an argument every time conflict arises!"

"But this isn't just some stray dragon wreaking havoc, this is an entire country who hate Vikings!"

"And your son is there- alone!"

I winced as Astrid voiced the thing I'd been trying to ignore.

"I know. Don't remind me."

Her eyes widened as she watched my worried expression. Her voice softened.

"Please, let us try. We are all willing. Just let us help your son."

"Okay. As long as your families agree, okay," I surrendered, feeling miserable.

Her entire face brightened.

"I don't know what Hiccup's been complaining about all these years, you're perfectly reasonable!"

I frowned at her, then relented, giving her a small smile.

"One question," she added, "which way is Scotland?"

"Oh. Umm, the thing is- we don't actually know."

"You mean Hiccup is the only one who knows where it is?"

"Yes."

"And he's in Scotland."

"Yes."

We regarded each other carefully, having reached a conversational stalemate. Then something snagged in the back of my mind.

"He did give us one clue though."

"Yes?"

"North-west."

"Got it."

* * *

_Merida_

I led Hiccup into the castle, quickly asking Maudie where Mum and Dad were.

In the throne room. Typical.

"You ready?"

"Yes," he replied tugging nervously at his shirtsleeves.

"Oh they're not that scary! Well, Mum can be sometimes, but don't worry about that."

He gulped.

"Come on," I grabbed his wrist and started dragging him.

We arrived at the throne room. I stood in the doorway, Hiccup hidden behind me.

"Mum? Dad? I brought a visitor with me. He wishes to speak to you."

"Merida? Okay, bring him in. Be prompt about it."

"Yes, Mum. Alright Hiccup, here's your chance." I gave him a reassuring grin before striding into the room.

Mum and Dad appeared to be going over paperwork, much to my father's dismay.

"Mum, Dad, I introduce to you Hiccup-" I frowned, I couldn't remember the rest of his name, "well, I'll let him introduce himself. Hiccup, this is King Fergus and Queen Elinor, my parents."

Mum grimaced at my poor introduction. Hiccup walked nervously to the centre of the room, wobbling on his prosthetic leg.

"Elinor! He's missing a leg like me!" Fergus chortled.

"Fergus! Now is not the time. Be nice to the poor boy."

Hiccup stared down to the ground, then looked up at them, meeting their eyes.

"King Fergus and Queen Elinor of Dunbroch, my name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." He gave a small bob of a bow.

Mum eyed him suspiciously.

"That is not a Scottish name, Master Haddock."

"No it is not. I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, son and only heir to the chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe." He was no longer the nervous boy, he stood strong and proud, watching the King and Queen unblinkingly.

Dad nearly fell out of his chair, while Mum's eyes widened and her mouth almost dropped open, which would have been very un-lady like. Me, I just watched from the side, not really sure what to think. So, he was a Viking. Intriguing.

"What!?" Fergus cried.

Mum kept a little more composure.

"What brings you here?" She looked almost nervous. Dad had his hand on his sword. I frowned at him. Couldn't he see how little a threat Hiccup was?

"Well, like I said to Merida, it is a very long story. Do you want to hear it now?"

"I think we can make the time." Fergus said, shifting his position on his seat, staring wide eyed at Hiccup, still in shock.

"Well then. The first thing I'll say is I am here on my own. Against my father's will."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really." He stared strongly at Dad.

He continued on to tell his story. How he had overheard his father discussing Scotland with his elders, and how they had never resolved their conflict. He explained how before then, he did not know Scotland even existed. Hiccup felt this was wrong so he came here to negotiate with us, to end our ignorance of each other. He met me in the forest when he had first arrived. Since then he has been trying to find his way here.

Even I had to admit it sounded suspicious. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"And why should we believe you?" Dad asked, also looking wary.

"Because, look at me, I came here on my own and I stand in front of you unarmed, completely vulnerable, telling you I am your long lost enemy. We Vikings may not be the best at cunning plans, but we're not this stupid."[1]

Dad stroked his beard in thought.

"Yes, well, the problem is we don't remember a huge amounts about the Vikings. You could be lying."

"If I am, what am I going to do?"

"Fergus, let the boy stay. If there is any sign of trouble, we will exile him immediately."

"Or worse." Dad added darkly.

Hiccup puffed out his chest, looking quite silly, but very masculine.

"I would never do anything of the sort."

"Fine he can stay. Discussion will start tomorrow." Dad said, nodding tightly at Hiccup. "Guards! Take this boy to one of the guest rooms and make sure he doesn't get up to anything."

I thought Dad was overdoing it a bit, but Hiccup was quite the puzzle, and not to be trusted. I watched the guards, who were not so lethargic anymore, guide Hiccup upstairs.

The problem was that I felt I already did trust him.

* * *

_Hiccup_

Okay, so I lied, a lot. Even about being unarmed. I may have been the least Viking-like Viking there ever was, but some of their habits did rub off on me. One of those was to always carry a weapon. I had a dagger hidden in my only boot. And, of course I didn't really come here alone, Toothless was here.

Hmmm, how was I going to visit him with all these guards around? He'll only obey my orders for so long before he gets worried. I'll come up with something. Later.

The guards led me up a flight of stone stairs. Merida ran up from behind and fell into stride next to me, much to the irritation of the guards. Then she punched me, on the shoulder. This seemed to be a very familiar situation. I briefly wondered if a kiss would come next, before completely dismissing that ridiculous idea. She definitely was not Astrid! Still…

"You're a Viking! And you waited until now to tell me, in front of my parents!"

"Well, to be fair, we did only just meet." I objected, rubbing my shoulder.

"Yeah and you've already been inside my home and met my parents. I only just learnt where you're from!"

"Sorry about that. I meant well."

"Aha. Well you do realise your story sounds ridiculous. No one believes it."

Huh, and I gave them the more believable version. This could be interesting.

"Oh really? Well I'm here to tell you that no matter what story I give you, my intentions are pure."

She snorted.

"Hah! Pure? I don't think so."

I shrugged.

"So be it. Have it your way. But I really do mean to bring peace between our tribes. It's what I do, my profession."

"Yes, but at what price?"

"That is a very good question. However, that part is up to you."

* * *

[1] They need a Baldrick! (Blackadder reference).

**I know I said this would remain Hicstrid, but Hiccup is a teenage boy and he's allowed to fantasise occasionally! ;)**

**So there you go. I hope that wasn't to confusing. Please review! Thank you. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, it's been a while, but I've finally completed the chapter. I have a whole list of reasons why, but I'm going to shut up and let you read. Longest chapter yet! Have fun!**

_Astrid_

How did we manage to lose a whole freaking country?!

We had spent the whole day on our dragons searching for this Scotland place. So far I had come across two islands. One was just a mass of boulders, and the other was filled with Changewings. That was a somewhat sticky situation.

I was now sitting on Stormfly, trying to ignore Snotlout's endlessly pointless chatter. I was going to kill Hiccup when we finally found him, if the Scots hadn't bet me to it.

The Twins pulled up on my other side.

"Hiccup is really good at this game!" Tuffnut called to us.

"What game?" I asked, more than a little bit exasperated.

"Hide and seek!" Ruffnut yelled.

"We are not playing hide and seek!"

"Sardines?"

"No."

"What about 'discover a new country and stay there without telling anyone else where it is'?" Tuffnut asked.

"I guess that's the closest to what we're doing," I sighed.

"Okay!" they both cried and pulled away, heading in the wrong direction.

"Wait, no! What are you doing?!"

"Finding a country to hide in!" Ruffnut yelled back.

"No, don't do that! Come back here!"

They were gone. Thor give me strength.

"Should we go after them?" Fishlegs inquired.

"No, they'll get sick of that game pretty quickly."

We had been split up, searching in a north-westerly direction. I was with Snotlout, and Fishlegs with the Twins. Once again, we had come full circle and met up.

"Did you find anything?" I asked, not because I believed they had, but because I was desperate.

Fishlegs shook his head.

"Nothing."

My shoulders sagged and I looked out over the sea.

"Argh. Hiccup!" I cried in frustration.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"We're going back to Berk, then we'll try again tomorrow."

"How long are we going to flying around looking for this stupid speck in the sea?" Snotlout moaned.

"Until we find it."

_Hiccup_

Okay, I was now officially bored. I had been stuck in my room for the rest of the day. I had spent a while lying back on the too soft bed, then another while staring out the window.

I pulled out my notebook from the inside of my vest and started scribbling in it, taking notes on the thing I had learnt about Scotland. The women wore long concealing dresses, and the men wore something quite similar, yet somehow more masculine. I drew a map of the pieces of country I'd seen, including the inside of the castle. When I finished doing that, I started coming up with a plan to visit Toothless. I wouldn't go tonight. Tonight I'd be a good Viking and stay where I'm meant to.

I plopped down on the stone floor. How was I going to pull this off? Typically, I'd rushed into the situation without any real plan. I'd been too caught up in actually getting here that I hadn't thought about what I'd do once I got here.

Coming up blank, once again, I started fiddling with my prosthetic leg. The spring in it had become faulty, meaning sometimes the suspension worked and sometimes it didn't, which made it very hard to walk on.

That's where Merida found me early in the morning, when only the first strains of sunlight reached through the window. Asleep on the stone floor, surrounded by the pieces of my leg.

She shook me awake and I snapped to attention, well, sort of.

"Wuh?"

"Shhh, I'm not meant to be here, I snuck in when the guards were changing over," she told me in a hushed voice. She was dressed in a simple deep blue frock, and I could see the tip of a leather boot sticking out from under her skirt. Her red hair was as shocking as usual, loose, and sticking out in all directions. She then paused to assess my situation.

"How on earth were you asleep on that floor?! It must have been freezing, let alone painful!"

"Errr, the bed was too soft, and I was fixing my leg, when I fell asleep," I replied, still trying to shake off the lasting traces of sleep.

"Those bits and bobs are pieces of your leg?"

"Yup."

"Well you better get it put back together soon, if you want to get down the stairs in time for breakfast."

"Don't worry, I was almost done anyway," I said as I started fitting the bits of metal together, screwing them into place. When I finished I stood up and twisted it around, testing it.

"That should do for now. It needs a new spring, but it will hold for today."

"Alrighty then, let's go."

"Is that really all you snuck in here for?"

"Of course not. Come with me." She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. The guards almost fell over in shock when we dashed past, probably wondering how on earth Merida had got past them in the first place.

We went down a new corridor that I hadn't seen yet. There were bear carvings everywhere.

"What's with all the bear carvings?" I asked.

"Um, it's a long story. In short, my dad's the bear king, so we have a fondness of bear accessories."

"Well, I think he's over doing it a bit."

She paused briefly to glare at me, then pulled me forward again.

We went up a few stairs (to my dismay) and then came to a ladder.

"Up you go," she chanted, and pushed me forward. I shrugged and started to climb. I came out onto the roof top of one of the turrets of the castle. The sun was only half way over the horizon, throwing orange and pink light over the frosty ground of DunBroch.

Merida climbed up behind me and pulled out an apple, where from, I had no idea. She leaned on the stone wall and looked out, munching on the apple.

"So, tell me, what are you going to do today? What's your strategy?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Um, well, you've got me there. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do."

"You travelled all the way here, without a plan?"

"I hadn't got that far, I was too caught up in escaping my father."

"Huh. So, what's your homeland like?" She seemed genuinely curious.

"I live on an island called Berk. It is 12 days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery."

"That sounds nice," she replied, slightly baffled.

"Oh it is. It has fishing, hunting and a charming view of the sunset."

"Well that really does sound nice."

"Yes," I said, then muttered under my breath, "the only problems are the pests."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just the heretical madness playing up."

"Oh, okay," she turned her back to me and stared out over the view, chewing on the apple thoughtfully.

"Have you ever dreamed that you could fly?" she asked, still not looking at me.

"Funny you should mention that actually."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I have. Though I didn't realise it until I actually did."

"What do you mean? You can't have actually flown?" She turned to gape at me.

"What's the point of wishing you could fly if you don't believe you could? That seems like a waste of time to me."

"It's called a dream," she huffed and turned away from me again.

"So what exactly is the point to this exercise? You don't seem like the sort of person that wakes up strange boys at a ridiculous hour in the morning just to look at pretty views."

"No, I'm not," she said coolly, still looking away from me.

Just as I thought that was all I was going to get out of her, she spoke again.

"I'm trying to work you out Hiccup. You seem like a trustworthy person, but you're a Viking, someone who my people have not trusted for many, many years. We thought you were extinct. You Vikings are so mysterious that bizarre stories were made up to explain your disappearance. Dragons, of all things. You come here with very little explanation as to why, and say you want peace. Why would you do that? We were existing perfectly fine without one another. The only reason I can think of is that you need us for something, but I don't know what, and you're not telling me. You're a weakling of a boy, comical even, yet you act as if nothing could touch you. What is your secret?" She turned and gave me a level stare. "What are you hiding?"

"Oh I'm hiding many things. I'm hiding the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing here. I'm hiding a dagger in my boot. I'm hiding from my tribe, and I'm hiding my best friend."

"You have a dagger in your boot!"

"Really? That's all you got out of that?"

"Oh, boo to you," she cried, poking her tongue out at me.

"Very proper," I laughed.

"You've seen nothing yet."

We watched as the sun broke free of its final restraints, pushing away the clinging arms of the horizon, letting loose its full glory. Then she turned to the wooden door that led back down stairs.

"Time for breakfast!" she called, disappearing down the ladder.

"Oh. Great!" I responded, taking one more glance at the now full sun.

So, she had heard rumours of the dragons, but she didn't believe a word of it. It was going to be very funny if she ever found out. Or maybe just painful, for me anyway. And now I had to go downstairs and face her family formerly.

Odin help me.

_Merida_

Well, that was partially successful. I learnt more about him, but nothing of use to me, as of yet. _I'm hiding my best friend. _What was that supposed to mean? Did he have someone else here with him? Then why did he tell me? Men continued to be a mystery to me. At least I wasn't at risk of having to marry this one.

I led him to the dining hall. The rest of the family were already seated at the table, a lot earlier than usual. Guess they were curious too.

Dad frowned at Hiccup as we entered, upset by something. The boys eyed Hiccup with unrestrained curiosity. He gave them a shy wave.

"You can sit here," I smiled stiffly at him, offering the seat next to me, so Mum was the next closest to him. He gave Elinor a nervous look, but thanked me and sat down. A serving girl placed a plate of food in front of Hiccup. He eyed it with caution.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused by his reaction to the simple array of fruit and breads.

"We don't have anything like this in Berk," he replied in awe.

"Surely you've seen an apple before," I retorted.

"Well, yes, trader Johann has some occasionally, but they're expensive. And I saw you eat one earlier"

"Well, we are royalty, I think we can afford apples. Please, enjoy." I tried my best not to laugh as he tried to cut the apple up with a knife and fork.

"Just eat it with your hands lad!" Fergus called from across the table, giving a bellow of a laugh. The triplets giggled and even Mum smiled a bit, her eyes crinkling with humour.

I watched as he gingerly picked it up and bit into it, getting juice all over himself. He chewed thoughtfully.

"It's good," he smiled, bits of apple stuck in his teeth. I did laugh then.

"Now lad," Dad addressed him as formally as he could, "we need to discuss your business here."

"Sure, what do you want to know," he replied, picking curiously at a sweet bun.

"After breakfast," Elinor interrupted, eying the young boys, "let's do this properly."

"Very well," Fergus responded, then turned to Hiccup. "Eat up boy!"

Hiccup continued working his way through the bun. I helped myself to another apple.

We all finished our breakfast, then Mum turned to the triplets.

"You are dismissed, boys."

They took off, scattering in all directions, probably finding good places to eavesdrop from. I prepared myself for an argument about my presence at the meeting, but to my surprise, the queen just nodded at me.

"Merida, its time you took more responsibility in the matters of our kingdom," she explained.

Oh, I was going to hate this responsibility later on, I just knew it.

The servants cleared away the plates, and then Dad addressed Hiccup.

"So, you say you have come here to reinstate the piece between our two clans."

"Yes, I do."

"How exactly do you plan on doing this?"

"Err… I hadn't quite got that far yet."

"Hmmm, well traditionally we would bind the truce with marriage."

Hiccup screwed his nose up at this, and I glared at Dad. Marriage? Why was he even mentioning that?

"However, recent events have deemed that tradition somewhat futile, so that's not an option," Elinor added, and Dad nodded in agreement.

Few, so I wouldn't be marrying this sliver of a Viking.

"So, what _are _we going to do?" I asked.

Dad combed his fingers through his beard thoughtfully.

"Well I suppose we could write up some sort of treaty. However, we need this Hiccup boy and his people to prove their not up to no good."

"Sure thing," Hiccup spoke, "what do you want me to do?"

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that lad," Dad warned. "You say you're here against your father's wishes. Your father is the chief of your tribe, is he not?"

Hiccup nodded, not completely following where Dad was going. I eyed Dad suspiciously. What was he up to?

"Well therefore, technically, your tribe does not wish peace with us."

Hiccup frowned.

"But that is only because he thought you lot were savages and would kill me as soon as you found out who I was!" he objected

Fergus snorted.

"Us? We're the savages?!" he cried, more in amusement than offense. Mum regarded the two with cool eyes.

"Savages we are not, but that does not solve our little dilemma," she commented, then turned to address me. "Merida, what do you suggest?"

I started, not expecting to have to say anything. My mind scrambled.

"Oh, um, well…" Then an idea began to form. A smile grew on my face. It was exciting, it was amusing, and maybe even a little wicked.

"When you wanted me to marry one of the lords, they needed to compete for my hand to prove themselves." The whole table stared at me curiously. I continued.

"A quest. We should send him on a quest. To prove his new found allegiance to us." Mum nodded, her eyes twinkling with pride at my input and Dad smiled. Hiccup just squirmed in his seat, looking slightly unsettled, but not scared.

"What an idea!" Dad cried, "But what sort of quest?"

"Oh, something daring and dangerous. Maybe even life threatening." I smiled even harder, narrowing my eyes at Hiccup. Take that Mr Mysterious! Then Mum spoke, interrupting my internal rant.

"Merida, I hardly think that's appropriate-"

"Of course it is! It's perfect!" Dad bellowed.

"Fergus! He's just a child! We can't just ask him to put his life at risk just to prove himself."

"Aye we can, Elinor. It's for the sake of our kingdom, besides, it will be great fun."

"I still don't-"

"I'll do it." Everybody turned to stare at Hiccup, having briefly forgotten his presence. "If you need a way for me to prove my loyalty, I'll do it."

All the uneasiness had left him, and he gave off an air of determination. Mum sighed.

"Very well, but nothing life threatening! Not in my kingdom. Then we _would _be a bunch of savages."

"Fine with me," Fergus shrugged, "what did you have in mind Merida?"

I paused to contemplate and another idea came to me.

"The Fire Falls. He must climb the Crone's Tooth and drink from the Fire Falls," I smiled wickedly.

Mum gave me a level stare.

"Are you sure that will be safe?"

"Aye, I've done it myself. They can't call you savages when their own daughter has completed the same quest."

There was a small cough, and we turned to look at Hiccup.

"Excuse my ignorance, but what is this 'Crone's Tooth'."

"Oh laddie, you're in for a bit of a shock," Dad informed him "are you scared of heights?"

** Et voila! **

** For those who don't know, Sardines is a version of hide and seek, but only one person hides and everyone else has to go find them. When somebody finds them, they have to hide with them, until only one person is left looking, and they lose. **

** If you read the last scene closely, you probably realised that a few things don't meet up and that a few of the problems were not fully addressed. Hopefully that will happen in the next chapter, if I can get my head in the right place.**

** Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I think this has to be a new record for me. Over 4000 words in a week! And I started swimming training this week as well. Wow. This is kinda two chapters in one, but I wanted to get all the build up out of the way in one chapter. So here you are. **

**I make reference to a few Gaelic words in this chapter, and I probably will make more in the future, so I apologise if anything is incorrect as I had to use the 'trusty' internet. **

**Also there is reference to faeries in this chapter, and once again there will probably be more in the future. I will try my best to make everything clear, but I can get a bit carried away when talking about faeries so let me know if you don't understand something, and I will remedy that. **

**Any Gaelic or faerie references that aren't explained in the chapter will be explained in the AN at the end, if I remember. Enjoy!**

_Hiccup_

I watched the dark silhouette of a bird soar high above. Very high above. But the tall mound of unforgiving rock next to it was even higher. And I had to climb it.

"The Crone's Tooth," Merida confirmed from beside me, gazing upwards.

I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open, but I didn't bother to check.

"_Are _you scared of heights?" she asked.

"Not normally, but I've never been that high alone," I answered, still staring at the rock.

She gave me a slightly confused look, then shrugged, turning to pat Angus, who was busy consuming every shred of grass in his reach.

We had somehow managed to escape the castle without guards, but not without help. I was a bit confused when Merida stole a whole platter of sweet buns from the kitchen and led me to the triplets' room, but it soon became apparent why. Those three boys were sneakier than a hungry Changewing.

"Remind me why I have to do this."

"Formalities, mainly. Think how great it would sound in the history books," she offered, still stroking the horse. "Besides, you got yourself into this, you had a chance to back out."

"Me and my big mouth," I muttered to myself.

She shrugged again, fiddling with Angus' mane.

"You said you climbed this?"

"Yup."

"Wow."

"Indeed, and didn't nearly wet my panties at the thought of it either."

I shot a look at her, and she gave me a coy grin, a teasing twinkle in her eye.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew about the things I've done," I retorted.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Let's have it then."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"In other words, you made them up."

"Did not!"

"Come on then."

"Ah, I see what you're doing, but you will never get me to reveal my secrets!"

She pouted, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Damn you Hiccup!"

I gave her my best cocky smile and returned to ogling the rock formation.

The smile quickly turned to a grimace.

"Hey Merida?" I asked, trying to keep up with her and Angus on our way back to the castle.

"Yes?"

"I know I'm not meant to be left alone, but would it be too much to ask if you covered for me while I went and spent some alone time? I really need a break, and some time to get my head around this quest thing." I know it was a long shot, but I really needed to see Toothless.

She gave me an analysing look.

"I know you're probably up to something, but we've broken heaps of rules already, what's one more going to hurt?"

"Thanks, and stop thinking I'm out to hurt you and your people."

"Yeah, yeah, you're here to make peace and rainbows and all that. Just get out of here."

"Will do! See you later."

"Don't be gone to long, your absence will be noticed!"

I ran into the forest, down the path I took when I first came here.

Toothless. I was about to reunite with my best friend.

_Merida_

I watched the stringy boy race into the forest. I don't think I've ever seen him move that fast. No way was I believing he was just going for a stroll in the forest. I moved Angus onwards to follow him.

_I'm hiding my best friend._ Was that what this was?

He took a path that was horribly familiar. I hadn't been down this path since that fateful day. I sighed. Fate had a terrible sense of humour.

I followed the path, a crown of messy auburn hair leading the way.

We went around a corner, and I briefly lost sight of him. As the path straightened I searched for the little figure again. A groan of frustration escaped my lips. I'd lost him. He wasn't on the path anymore. I paced Angus up and down the path, but there was no sign of him.

With another exasperated noise I turned Angus down another path, towards my target range. Hiccup's face appeared on all the targets, just before I let the arrow loose.

How could I lose a boy with a metal leg in a forest that I knew my whole life, and he knew for the sum of ten minutes?

This boy was one mystery after the other.

_Astrid_

"They can't have gone too far," Stoick tried to reassure me.

"It's the Twins. With them, who knows?" I responded, flicking my fringe out of my eyes.

The Twins hadn't returned last night, and I had a horrible feeling it was my fault. Hiccup had never lost them for this long.

"I should go out and look for them," I said, pacing in front of the chief in the Great Hall.

"And where exactly do you think they might be?" he asked, leaning back on his seat. He didn't look at all worried. Why wasn't he worried?

"Probably on some little rocky island in the middle of the ocean, playing they're stupid game."

"Oh?"

"Yes, oh." I was starting to get aggravated. I was sure this was going to be a problem. I just knew it. Stoick lent forward in his seat again and grabbed my shoulder, stopping me midstride.

"Astrid, I know you're worried, but the Twins have gone missing plenty of times before. They always come back and, mostly, intact. We have to keep our heads and focus on keeping Berk running. I could spend every minute of every day staring out at the horizon, waiting for my son to come home, and leave my people to fend for themselves. But I'm their chief and I'm stronger than that. I know you are too."

I wanted to burst into tears, right there and then. But I don't cry. I am a Viking. Vikings do not cry.

I nod at him. I am strong. I am stronger than any other boy here. I can deal with this. No problem.

"If you need me, I'll be training in the forest." I picked up my axe and hefted it in my hand. Time to kill some trees.

I walked out of the huge doors of the Great Hall, trying to make myself angry. Anger was good. It erased fear, it erased guilt, and it erased misery. But as I made my way to my usual training grounds, I couldn't help admitting something to myself. Under the anger, all the feelings were still welled up, and it failed to hide my loneliness from me.

I missed Hiccup.

_Hiccup_

After a little bit of searching I finally found an opening to the clearing that I had hidden Toothless in. However, before I could even step into the clearing, I was overcome by a tornado of black scales with glowing green eyes.

Toothless jumped straight on top of me and gave me a massive slobbery lick.

"Missed you too bud," I said wryly, trying to wipe the saliva of my face while still pinned underneath him.

He jumped up and bounded around me twice before coming over and nuzzling me into an upright position. He did another lap before angling himself so his saddle was exposed, inviting me for a ride.

"Sure thing, Toothless." I stood up and went stepped up to climb on. Just as I was suspended halfway between the ground and his back, he took off sideways, dumping me on the ground.

"What was that for?!" I barked at him. He just gave a huffy laugh then sat back on his hind legs, giving me his most innocent expression.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're mad at me. Do you want to go flying or not?"

He gave a longing coo. With that, I climbed on and we took off at great velocity. I whooped with glee, before realising where I was. I quickly steered Toothless out towards the sea, where no one would be able to look up and see us.

We looped, spun and sped through the sky, making a great racket all the while. We flew and flew and flew. I closed my eyes, dreaming I was at Berk, my home island just behind, and the empty sky ahead. I missed home. Scotland had weird, rich food, too soft beds and overly extravagant ceremonies. Not to mention the fact that I could practically never get a moment to myself. Then again, it was like that most of the time at home as well.

Toothless gurgled underneath me and I looked up. The sun had moved across the sky and had started its descent towards the horizon. I gave a sad sigh, and turned Toothless around. Merida was right, I would be missed.

We spiralled back down to the clearing. I gave Toothless a massive hug, and he made a woeful warble. His pupils were big and sad as I let him go.

"Good boy, stay." I sniffled a little, and gave him a small wave and smile. He just moaned before curling up in his little shelter with a sigh. I nodded and started back towards the castle.

I was halfway back to the castle, when I heard a steady pounding noise behind me. The pounding was then joined by laborious breathing, and finally an oscillating figure. The figure consisted of a big dark horse with a white stripe down its face, and a girl in a long blue dress and flaming red hair. Merida. She had her bow slung over her shoulder, as usual.

She pulled up next to me, almost running over me with her great mountain of a horse.

"Hello, rùn-dìomhair," she said breathlessly as she halted Angus.

"What?" I replied, somewhat dazedly.

"Rùn-dìomhair, it's Gaelic for mystery."

I frowned slightly.

"In that case, I will be your dashing and very handsome rùn-dìomhair."

She laughed, "Well you butchered the pronunciation, but we'll go with that."

"Very well my lady," I mocked, bowing with a flourish.

Her laughter became even more boisterous. When she finished she turned to me.

"On other matters, I believe I promised you a ride on Angus." She jumped off the sweaty horse and started fiddling with the stirrups.

"What! No, I can walk, it's fine."

"You aren't scared, are you?'

"Of course not. Such a beast couldn't scare me!" I cried in my best Viking voice, all the while eyeing Angus cautiously.

"Up you get," she said, gesturing to the saddle. I looked up and down the beast.

"Uh, how?"

"You put your left foot in this stirrup, then swing around, pulling your other leg over the horse and into the other stirrup."

"Oh, easy-peasy," I replied sarcastically.

"Yes it is. Do you need a leg-up?"

"No, I can manage it." I stepped up to Angus and stiffly lifted my leg up to the stirrup. However, we both realised at the same time that my metal leg was not going to stay in the stirrup.

"Okay, maybe you'll have to get on the other side," she suggested.

"Why does it matter anyway?"

"So you don't stab yourself with your sword when you mount up."

"Of course, silly me, I was really worried about my sword," I gestured to the empty space where the sword would be.

"Just shut up and get on the horse."

I tried again, placing my right foot in the stirrup on the other side. I tried pulling myself up, but nearly fell on my behind.

Merida rolled her eyes.

"Here," she offered, placing my left foot in her hands and helping me onto the horse.

"Thanks," I smiled sheepishly.

She checked the stirrup length again then led Angus forward. She looked up at me and rolled her eyes again.

"These are reins," she said, holding up the strap connected to Angus' mouth. "You hold onto them, and use them to steer the horse."

"Oh, right," I commented, dumbfounded, grabbing the reins.

She further explained the use of the reins and my legs, while leading Angus down the worn path.

It was very different from a dragon. The steering system was a lot more complicated and I was meant to kick him if I wanted him to move forward.

"Can't I just ask him?" I asked when Merida told me this.

She snorted, "You can try if you want."

I leant forward towards Angus' ears. "Hey, Angus, would you mind going a little faster."

He flicked his head, but made no other move. Meanwhile Merida was trying to control a fit of laughter. I frowned at her, and went back to trying to remember how the reins worked.

"We're almost back. Let's try a trot."

"Wait, what?" It was too late. She pulled Angus forward, jogging next to him. Angus picked up a new gait, which was faster and a _lot _bouncier. My first instinct was to hold on tightly to the reins, but that just irritated him, so I grabbed the front of the saddle and held on tight.

After a few torturous minutes of bouncing, we reached the gates to the castle.

"Here we are," she called up to me, smiling evilly at my flushed face. "We should do this again."

I slid of Angus' left side and collapsed on the ground.

"Maybe next time we can try a canter," she continued.

"Never. Never, again," I gasped, lying flat on my back.

She just continued to grin manically.

Merida put Angus away in his stable, and we headed back to the castle.

So, on the outside she was a sweet, maidenly princess, but within lurked a creature of the dark, preying on innocent men. I would have to warn Dad about these Scottish women when I got back. _If _I got back, I reminded my giddy mind.

_Merida_

"Hi Dad," I called, marching in and grabbing some food off the table.

"Afternoon Merida!" he answered with his usual gusto. He was half-heartedly trying to teach one of his hunting dogs, Hendrik, to shake his paw. He'd being trying for weeks now, with little success.

Hiccup wandered in vaguely behind me. I tried, once again, not to laugh. His hair looked like a bird had made its home in it, and he'd then walked through a hurricane. His face was still flushed and he looked like he was about to collapse where he stood.

"What have you two been up to?" Dad asked, also noticing Hiccup's peculiar appearance.

"I took him for a ride on Angus," I replied, a little hiccup of laughter escaping my lips.

Dad gave me a disapproving look, but he could never hold these looks for long, and was soon beaming again.

"I take it he wasn't keen on it then?"

"Not particularly," Hiccup answered, flopping down on one of the seats.

"Well you better recover soon, if you want to succeed in your challenge tomorrow," Dad suggested.

"What!" We both exclaimed at the same time.

"Well, it sounds like our little laddie here is being missed by his tribe, so we better get these formalities out of the way so he can go home. We don't want an armada of Viking ships arriving on our doorstep."

I may have pouted a little. I hadn't realised it, but Hiccup's visit had been a breath of fresh air, something new and exciting. When he went home, I'd be left once again with my lessons and my mother's suitors.

"What about the whole issue of Hiccup's tribe not actually agreeing with this treaty," I asked, holding my breath for an answer.

"That is still an issue, but Hiccup is the chief's son, and even if his father doesn't agree, Hiccup is the future. If we don't have an alliance now, we will have one day, with Hiccup's help."

Well, someone had changed their tune.

"What happened to the 'we can't trust him' attitude?" I prompted.

"Ach, if he has an ulterior motive, I can't work it out."

Through the entire discussion, Hiccup sat there, trying to look interested in our conversation, but looking like he was about to nod off. I sighed.

"Very well. Tomorrow, when the sun is at its highest, Hiccup proves his 'loyalty' to us by climbing the Crone's Tooth, defying death for a higher cause. So I say it, so mote it be."

I gave a mocking bob of a curtsy before striding out of the dining hall. However, just after my dramatic exit, I quickly spun back on my heel and poked my head through the door.

"Hiccup! Come on!"

The boy jerked his head up from where it had been resting on the table, and quickly came trotting after me. And I kept thinking men were complicated.

"Where are we going?" he asked when he caught up with me.

"I don't know. Somewhere peaceful."

I was about to stride up the stairs, the roof of one of the turrets on my mind, when Hiccup stopped, staring at a large intricately carved door. Bears, of course.

I walked back to join him.

"What's in there?" he queried, tracing the carvings absent mindedly with his fingers.

"Just the library," I shrugged, about to drag him onwards.

"What's a library?" he continued. I sighed, did this boy know anything?

"A place where books are kept. Now let's go!"

"Books?" he instantly perked up and opened the door, heading straight in.

"Wait, what are you doing!?" I called after him, but he was lost to me. I followed him in.

I found him in one of the aisles, staring in awe at all the books.

"This is way better than the apples," he murmured to himself. He found a book and started flicking through it.

I moaned in frustration. I was just thinking how much fun he was to have around, then he went and pulled a stunt like this! Why was I even kidding myself, thinking for even a moment that men were simple?

"Fine, you have fun with your books. I'm going to do something interesting," I huffed, and strode off. I don't think he even noticed my absence.

_Elinor_

I was shocked when I found the young Viking in the library. I was just looking up some statistics on the McGuffin clan when I found the boy sitting on an old rug, encircled by towers of books.

How curious, a literate Viking.

"Good evening Master Haddock," I greeted him. He glanced up from his book, only just recognizing my presence.

"Oh, hello… err, your majesty. You can call me Hiccup, I'm not used to being called 'Master' anything."

"Of course," I inclined my head in acknowledgment. "I say, I'm a bit shocked to see you so keen on Scottish literature."

"Huh, well, I'm not like most Vikings."

"I suppose not. What is your area of interest?"

"Well, there are many intriguing things here, like your culture and history, but what I'm really interested in is your creatures."

"Creatures?"

"Yes, the daoine sìth, the sea monsters and spirits."

I gave a somewhat hesitant laugh.

"And why would you be interested in such things? They're just myths."

"Are they really just myths? Then why do you have so many books on things that don't exist."

"Scottish people are very superstitious. They'll create creatures to explain anything. There's a creature called an alp-luachra in a nearby country, or a joint-eater. Supposedly, if your struggling to gain any weight, this faerie is eating half of your food, and the only way to get rid of it is to eat very salty beef without a drink, and lay with your mouth open by a running stream, so it gets thirsty and jumps out. Do you really find that realistic?"

"Okay, so maybe that story is a bit far-fetched, but what about the others? Pixies, nixies, banshees, selkies?"

"I've seen Will o' the Wisps before," I admitted.

"What are they?"

"Lost souls, they lead us to our fate."

"I'm not sure I'd trust lost souls to lead me anywhere."

"I suppose it does seem unwise."

"But…?"

"But they do seem to be very good at it."

"Really? So they mean well?"

"Oh, no, not always. They may have good intentions at heart, but they're just as likely to lead you to your death as to victory."

The boy nodded and peered back down at his book. This was a conversation I definitely wasn't expecting to have. He had broken down my defenses, which was probably why the next little bit of curiosity slipped off my tongue.

"What's the story behind your leg? Fergus has a very exciting story to go with his. Mystical creatures maybe?"

The Viking glanced down at his metal contraption of a leg.

"Oh, no. No mystical creatures for me. I fell into a pond of very hungry goldfish."

I couldn't help but laugh. The boy was quite amusing.

"You don't find my story exciting?" he questioned, smiling mockingly at me.

"Oh, quite the opposite. I think it is quite thrilling."

"You really have to watch out for fish, they're deadly cunning."

"Indeed, I will."

With another little laugh, I trod out of the library, a silly smile on my face. I shook my head and scolded myself. Keep your mind on the job. This is not a social gathering. But the little smile kept creeping back.

_The next morning…._

The sun's rays were just beginning to greet the dew ridden land of Scotland. All was peaceful. Shepherds were just beginning to prepare for a day's work, bakers were warming their ovens and a few, more fortunate people, were taking the chance to sleep in.

However, in a little forgotten corner in the Kingdom of DunBroch, a ruckus was beginning to stir. A great two headed beast had arrived in the forest, with two young, loud, Viking riders astride each head. The forest held its breath as the strange party arrived.

"We found it. We found a new country. Let's call it Tufftopia!" the male Viking bellowed.

"I thought Ruffmania sounded better," the other replied.

They both glared at each other, still sitting on top of their dragon.

"I've got it!" the male cried, "We'll call it the Democratic Republic of Nuts."

"I love it!"

The two jumped of their scaled companion and glanced around them.

"I think this place has potential," the female said, twirling one of her long, blonde braids.

"Yeah! Let's blow it up!"

"Ah-ah, first we must do a risk assessment, find what will burn the best!"

The two started exploring the area, dragon in tow.

It wasn't long however, before they were met with a curious sight.

As they were debating the flammability of a nearby tree, they heard a small gasp.

They turned to find three young red headed boys staring, not at them, but at the two headed creature behind them. The boys were loaded with various cakes and pastries, having just stolen them from a nearby bakery.

"Aww man, someone beat us to the Democratic Republic of Nuts, now we'll have to find another country to hide in."

"We could still blow up this one…"

"Of course, but it needs to be spectacular."

"That's our specialty." The two hi-fived, more or less ignoring the triplets, who were slowly creeping up to the dragon.

Their attention was finally drawn to the boys when they heard a raucous giggling, interrupting their planning. They turned to find the three boys on their dragon, two controlling the heads, and one on the tail.

The beast appeared to be enjoying itself, though it was a bit hard to tell as it was constantly moving. Suddenly the tree that they were recently debating over was on fire, as the triplets worked out the controls.

"Told you that tree would go up like a treat," the male spoke, before his twin elbowed him in the ribs.

"Barf! Belch! What are you doing?"

The dragon pulled to a halt, and the boys groaned in disappointment.

"Well, hello there," the male Viking spoke.

The triplets giggled and slid off the dragon, running to line up in front of them. The twins studied the damaged tree.

"Looks like we've found ourselves some new recruits."

One of the boys tugged on the female's sleeve and then they raced into the forest.

Anyone who happened to be in this remote part of the forest would have seen three young red-headed princes, followed by two lanky, blonde Vikings, and finally a two headed dragon. This person would have probably thought themselves mad, and taken themselves to be treated. Others, however, would have seen a recipe for trouble.

**daoine sìth- A general word for the fae.**

**I did some research on the Will o' the Wisps, and there was very little reference to the Scottish version of them. The first recorded mention of them in Scotland is in the late 1800's and Brave is set roughly in the 900's. They are more commonly known in Wales and a little bit in Ireland. There are versions of them all over the world though, even in Australia. They are nearly always wicked beings, who like leading travellers astray. However, we know the Wisps in Brave are at least sometimes nice, so I'll have to stick with that, well, at least a little bit. **

**I definitely played to my strengths in that chapter, faeries and horses! The Twins are my favourite HTTYD characters, other than Toothless. I wanted to give them a big part in my story, as I was really disappointed that they didn't have much of a role in the second movie, especially poor Tuffnut. **

**One more week of school left, meaning more writing time! Yay! Hope you enjoyed, and expect thing to get a bit stranger here on in. **

**Oh, and a big thank you to all those who have fav/followed/reviewed etc. Please leave a comment!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Done! I found this chapter very hard, turns out I'm good at writing fluff, but not so good at writing scenes where things actually happen. I thought school holidays were meant to be relaxing occasions, but I'm flat out all the way through, so it turns out I won't have as much writing time as I thought. Sorry!**

**Quick note on the story cover: I'm very proud of it and spent a lot of time on it. Some of you might have noticed that it changed a few times. I designed it on a Brave poster, where instead of Toothless there was a bear. I then drew it with Toothless, but it didn't come out very well on camera, so I then photo-shopped it. It was a lot of work, and I'm not particularly artistically talented, so I just wanted to let you know! ;-) **

**Enjoy the story! It's a bit shorter this time. **

_Hiccup_

I slept on the floor again last night, but with a pillow and a blanket. I could get used to pillows.

Breakfast was a lonely affair. The DunBroch family were busy in preparations, but a servant girl said I could help myself. I did, trying new fruits, breads and pastries. The food was delicious, but rich, and I was soon full. After that, I was left alone to contemplate. That was the last thing I wanted.

On Toothless, height was glorious. The higher the better. It was freer, fresher, and fuller. But I didn't have Toothless. I had to do this on my own, and I was rather nervous.

I decided to go for a walk and I found myself, once again, at the library. Deciding I needed the distraction, I pulled out a random book, turned to a random page, and started reading. I guess I was hoping for some amazing revelation, but none came. I continued to read anyway. It was boring dribble about some war eons ago. If I hadn't been so anxious, I would have fallen asleep there and then.

That's where some guards found and escorted me to the site of my quest. The place had transformed since yesterday. There were tents everywhere, some with food, some with stalls and others as gathering places. My quest had been turned into an all-out festive occasion.

I was standing there, staring at the pandemonium, when Merida found me. She had been transformed. She was wearing an emerald green silky dress, with gold lining. Her hair was wound in a tight, intricately braided bun, and she had a gold chain around her neck.

"There you are!" she gave an annoyed cry. "I have been stuffed into this gammy dress and forced to be all prim and polite! Help me!"

I just stood there in silent shock, and she just gave a violent groan, pushing me into the mass of people.

"We have perhaps an hour to have some fun, before my mother finds us, and I'm jolly well going to use that hour," she informed me as we waded through the crowds.

We visited stalls, playing games and trying foods. It was actually quite fun, and I had almost completely forgot my impending trial.

We were just laughing over a silly game we had just tried to play, when something caught Merida's eye, and she dragged me over to a food stand. She gave me a wicked smile.

"You have to try this," she told me, before talking to the stall owner, out of my hearing. She gave me a great brown lump of what I think was meant to be meat. Then she watched me intently, and I gave her a confused look. She looked a bit like Toothless when he was waiting for me to eat his regurgitated fish. That was comforting.

"Go on," she coaxed, "eat it."

I gave her an acknowledging grimace, then took a bite. It was fairly bland tasting, with a hint of herbs in it.

"Mmmm," I spoke through my mouthful, "not bad. What is it?"

"It's haggis," she grinned excitedly.

I nodded, and took another bite.

"It's sheep stomach," she continued, looking at me expectantly.

I nodded again, slightly puzzled by her hawk like stare. "I've always liked mutton."

Her face dropped in disappointment, and a hint of shock. Then she shrugged and grinned again.

"Huh, foreigners are usually put off by that."

I shrugged and continued to eat, "I'm a Viking, it takes a bit more than a lump of meat to put me off."

"I'll have to remember that," she responded, before taking off towards another stand.

However, our little adventure didn't last much longer. Elinor found us at a weapons stall. Merida was eying off some arrows, while I was studying the metalwork.

"You two! What are you doing running around like stray children? Merida! This is no time for weapons. Put that down!" And just like that, we were dragged off to a large tent where, apparently, the royal family was residing.

Fergus sat waiting for us. He greeted us, then went on to explain the triplets' absence.

"They'll be off in the celebrations somewhere, pulling jokes on poor, drunk men," Fergus explained, with a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "They're father's love of adventure and humour, with their mother's smarts and cunning."

"Cunning, dear?" Elinor queried, with a warning voice.

Fergus ignored the deadly tone, and answered, "Aye, as cunning as a wee fox."

The Queen glared at her husband, then huffed and turned to me.

"The sun is almost at its highest, your quest will be start very soon. Are you ready?"

I shrugged off my nerves and doubts, they weren't wanted here, and nodded with a fixed look of determination on my face.

"Definitely."

After a few more details were explained, we started our parade to the Crone's Tooth. The king led, followed by Merida and I, with Elinor at the rear. From some unknown place, a horn sounded, and the large crowds began to congregate in the same direction we were headed.

We were led up onto a dais, facing the large rock formation. The queen called for silence, and the audience obeyed.

"Welcome all! We are brought here today to settle a peace treaty with the Hairy Hooligan Tribe! I have here, with me, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, heir to the chief of the tribe. Today he will prove his worthiness, by climbing to the top of the Crone's Tooth, and retrieving this piece of paper, the treaty." She held up a formal piece of parchment. This was news to me. It didn't really change anything though, so I shrugged and continued listening from where I stood.

"My daughter, Merida, Princess of DunBroch, will do the honours."

Merida stepped forward, and I watched curiously. How was she going to get the piece of paper all the way up there? Surely she wasn't going to climb it first?

She picked up the most beautifully deadly thing I had ever seen, a great bow. With a scarlet ribbon, she tied the treaty to an arrow. How in Freya's name was she going to get the arrow to the top? No way could she shoot that far.

She took a big breath, pulled the bow's string back, and let loose. The arrow flew so fast, you could barely see it. I looked up, and by some miracle, the arrow was lodge in a crack at the top of the Crone's Tooth. Merida turned, and saw my face. She smirked at me, before traipsing back to her seat.

Oh no, it was now my turn.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, do you accept our challenge?"

"I do," I gulped.

"Then you may begin!"

I walked up to the rock, and looked up. I had never been particularly athletic, and that was before I had lost a foot. Sure, I'd been rock climbing before, but I wasn't very good at it. I turned to have one more look behind me. The crowd were all watching intently, the queen was sitting on her make-shift throne, stony faced and Fergus was observing raptly. Merida caught my eye and gave me a thumbs up with a gleeful smile. Good to see she was enjoying herself.

I turned back, took a big breath, and began to climb. It was awkward, tricky, and tiring. My footing slipped multiple times, but I managed to keep hold. The gushing waterfall next to the large rock was almost soothing, but frightening at the same time. Every time I slipped, there was a large jeer from the crowd.

I began to get really tired, the Scottish sun burning into my back, and the sweat beginning to poor from my face. I took a chance and looked up. There it was! The scroll was only four feet above my head. I gave a strained grin, and continued to climb. However just as I began again, there was a large explosion from behind me, followed by a screech. The crowd cried out in alarm, having never seen or heard anything like it. To me, however, it was the sound of home.

"Zippleback!" I cried breathlessly.

I turned to see where it was coming from, clinging onto the rock for dear life. However, just as I turned, the spring in my prosthetic failed, making me lose my balance. Ten minutes ago, I probably could have been able to save myself, but now my arms were weak and tired, unable to hold on any longer. As this happened I saw a hint of green scales, confirming my suspicions about the dragon.

I fell.

I should have been scared, but I was too tired to care anymore. Something in my subconscious thought; Toothless will catch me. But Toothless wasn't here.

So I just squeezed my eyes shut and prepared myself for pain.

_Elsewhere….._

The Twins had followed the triplets all the way to the festival. As they watched from the cover of the trees, the triplets pointed in excitement to a cake stall.

To the Twins, words had little meaning, so they managed to communicate well with their young accomplices. The two looked at each other and nodded, pointing to the stand across from it, filled with mundane, and very flammable, knick-knacks, then to the dragon. The triplets jumped up and down in glee.

The plan was executed precisely. The Twins jumped on Barf and Belch, and swiftly set alight to the souvenir tent. There was a grand explosion, bringing everybody's attention to the fire, and away from the cake stall. The boys rushed in, and began stuffing every piece of their clothing with different sweet delights.

While they did this, the Twins made their escape, shooting up into the air. There were many gasps and cries of alarm, which the Twins ignored, but as they swept past a waterfall, something caught their eye. A boy was on the side of the tall rock. And not just any boy; it was Hiccup! Just as they saw him, Hiccup fell. Barf and Belch, being so well trained, automatically dived after him, and caught him on their back. There were more cries of alarm, and a great roar from below.

Hiccup sat shakily on the dragon, unable to speak. The Twins swerved around, dodging some arrows that someone had started firing, and headed back towards the forest.

"Wait! No, I have to go back!" Hiccup cried, finally getting his voice back.

"Nuh-uh," Ruffnut called, "we spent days searching for you, we're not letting you go now!"

Hiccup just gaped at them, not quite believing his situation.

"Toothless! What about Toothless?!"

Coincidently, just as Hiccup said this, there was cry from below, a cry that Hiccup would know anywhere. They all looked down, to find a pitch black dragon looking back.

"Let's leave him!" Tuffnut yelled.

"No!" Hiccup shouted, "We can't just leave him here!"

"Alright, but if you try to go back, we'll drag you to Berk ourselves!"

"Okay, okay. I'm not sure I'd be welcomed back right now anyway."

"Good boy!" Tuffnut responded, as if Hiccup were a pet who finally learnt how to use the litter tray.

"Uh…" Hiccup replied, shaking his head.

They swept down to Toothless' clearing. Toothless leapt straight onto Hiccup, covering him in great, slobbery kisses.

"Hey bud! D'you miss me?"

Toothless responded in a gentle coo.

"Okay, listen boy. Ruffnut and Tuffnut are making us go home now. Back to Berk."

Toothless bounded around excitedly, not thinking this was at all bad.

"Yeah bud," Hiccup said sadly, "home again."

_Merida _

It was horrible. I almost killed a man.

My heart leapt into my throat as I watched him lose his balance and fall. I don't think many people saw it, they were too busy trying to find the source of the explosion. But my eyes were on Hiccup the entire time.

But something saved him. A great, scaly, two headed beast. A dragon. I gave a choked, frightened cry, and grabbed the bow off the ceremonial table. Dad heard me, and turned, spotting the dragon. The crowd yelled in shock, and Dad bellowed out, calling warriors to him. I began to shoot at the monster, before realising Hiccup was on the beast, and I would kill him in the process.

That's when I noticed that Hiccup was not the only person on the dragon. Two tall lean figures sat on the dragon, one on each head, almost like they were… riding it?! There was one other noticeable feature about the two dragon riders. They wore horned helmets.

As I stood gaping at the spectacle in front of me, my brain went into overdrive. Horned helmets, horned helmets, who wears horned helmets? I watched as the dragon and its riders disappear into oblivion, and I remembered.

Vikings. They were Vikings. I felt a deep pain in my chest. Hiccup was a liar? A traitor? He seemed so genuine, and I really wanted to believe him when he told me he had good intentions. And I had started to.

I was brought back to the present by my father, who grabbed me into one of his great bear hugs.

"You okay lass?" he asked as he set me down.

"I'm fine Dad," I reassured him, before taking in my surroundings. Everything was a shambles. In the distant, a tent was on fire, people were yelling and crying, and Dad's warriors were standing around us with their mouths agape. Mum was looking around as well, her sharp gaze sweeping over the area, her expression like stone.

Somebody was missing. Or somebodies.

"Where are the triplets?"

My father glanced up in apprehension, looking around for the three troublemakers.

Just then, they ran up to us, tripping someone over in the process, and jumped onto Fergus.

"Ahhh, there you are. You boys had me worried."

The triplets glanced around at the damage, wide eyed.

Hubert looked at me, and made a flapping gesture with his arms, a questioning look on his face. _Where did the dragon go? _I shrugged, I didn't really know. The boys looked disappointed. Of course they would want a huge fire breathing monster around. It sounds like their dream pet. All it needed was a third head.

"Bloody Vikings!" my father cried. "Should never had trusted him."

"Fergus!" Mum admonished, gesturing to the large crowd that had all turned to look at us.

Dad spun to view the crowd, and then began to address them.

"The Hooligan tribe have betrayed us! While they hid on their pathetic little islands, they trained these mystical beings so they could launch an attack on us! They obviously sent that stick of a boy to spy on us, to find information about us, all the while pretending he was a chief's son. He was just their most expendable, they didn't care if they lost him! We must prepare ourselves! Do not be afraid! We are strong, we can beat a Viking army any day, even if they are riding giant lizards!"

The crowd listened intently, many of their faces growing pale in fear, others looking like they couldn't wait to fight. I was just confused. Why would the Vikings go to all this effort, when we had been ignoring each other's existence for years? Mum's face grew graver, and even the triplets looked uneasy.

"If it is a war the Vikings want," Dad bellowed, "it is a war they shall get!"

There was a great uproar, and I fell back into my seat, my head whirling. War? This morning we were talking about peace.

I sighed and put my head into my hands. Fate had taken another turn, and I didn't think it was for the better.

**So that's that. I don't think I have anything to add, so thank you for reading! Please let me know if I made any grammatical/spelling errors, because this chapter was a bit rushed. Thank you, and I'd love to here some feedback!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ah, bonjour. School is about to start, which means my schedule will become more regular and I'll try to start updating weekly again. I wrote most of this on the train today, so their might be a few errors, I was a bit out of it. Please inform me if their is. Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows! Big thumbs up to all of you!**

_Stoick_

Today was a bad day. I had spent the morning fixing a roof, of which the Twins had destroyed before they disappeared. Even in their absence I was left cleaning up their messes. In public, I kept a brave face. If I wanted others to stay calm, so shall I. But inside, I was scared, terrified. Where was he? What if my only son was dead? I had no way of knowing, and it could be a long time before I did know.

As I walked into my house, I let the charade fall like a clay mask, shattering as it hit the wooden floor. I'm not sure how much longer I could keep this up. I was even worried for those two young ruffians. I didn't know where they were, but knowing them, they were where the trouble was.

Even my own home could not bring me comfort. As I entered the kitchen, I could not help but notice the absence of my son's aura. There was no scribbling of pen on paper, no jingling of contraptions, no metallic thud as he fell over something, forgetting his metal leg.

I climbed up the stairs and entered his room. I had not been here since he left. There was an array of half-finished plans, inventions, hopes and dreams. I sat on his small wooden bed, and it almost caved in under my weight; he was so much smaller than me. Fragile.

I sat and waited. In that time, I imagined him there, hunched over his desk, etching plans and designs onto parchment in the glow of candlelight. I eyed his latest invention. Leather armour, which he claimed would enable him to fly alongside his best friend. Of course, I thought the idea was preposterous, but he insisted it would work. He never got the chance to test it.

Stop it! He wasn't dead. At least, I didn't think so. Please, please, let the Scots be empathetic people, who thought my son was just a small kid with big dreams. Don't let them be the great, treacherous warriors the legends claim them to be.

I was alone now. One family member stolen by dragons, the other by his own aspirations, leaving a tired soldier to mourn on his own.

One large teardrop fell from my left eye, slowly descending down my weathered face. It paused at the tip of my nose, before falling and splattering on my scarred, oversized hand. I quickly flicked it away, disgusted at my own weakness.

There was a sudden loud commotion outside, which was fairly normal, but startled me out my woeful state. There were loud cracks and crashing noises, the sound of a building being destroyed. There was only one entity that could cause that much havoc in such a small amount of time; the Twins were back.

_Merida_

It is really quite frightening, knowing that your family is about to be responsible for a multitude of deaths, no matter which side they are on. I stride down the halls, my dress sweeping out behind me. I look to my left; soldiers training in the courtyard, how long did they have left? To my right; one of the kitchen staff holding a child close to her chest as she cooed to her in a soft, motherly voice. These are the people we are sworn to protect. Were we doing our duty? I did not know.

If I just had something to give me a forewarning, whether it was a voice from the heavens, a guiding hand from the past, or even just a gut feeling, but I was left with nothing.

Even my parents were conflicted. My father thought a war was the only answer, while my mother insisted there must be another way. As I went further up the hallway, I could hear them arguing, even now. They were in the dining room, my mother begging Dad to see reason, violence would not be the answer to our problems. We didn't even know what our problems were. All we knew is that the Vikings had taken a sudden interest in Scotland, and they had possession of a deadly weapon, one we were powerless against.

"Elinor, dear, what else can we do? They'll flatten us if we don't fight back! We need to be ready!"

"Do you see any Vikings here?" she threw back.

"No, but they will be. If the stories are anything to go by, these people are bloodthirsty, and crazy. They will stop at nothing."

"They have dragons Fergus! We know nothing about dragons. How will we compete with that?"

"We'll find a way. We have to.

"No, we don't."

"Do you have a better suggestion?"

"Just let the dust settle, we need to be able to see the problem clearly, before we can fix it."

"There's no time for that! We need to act, now."

I couldn't bear anymore. This was happening all too quickly. This kingdom was so peaceful. Why did bloody Hiccup have to come and destroy it all!? Peace? He wanted peace? I'll show him peace, a piece of my mind, that is. I ran away from the room, towards Angus' stall. They wouldn't let me out of the castle, we were under complete lockdown, so I threw my arms around Angus, burying my face in his mane and ignored the rest of the world.

In my head, I was a fierce Celtic warrior, solitary, and I bowed to no one. I could stand on the edge of a cliff face, hail raining down and the wind whipping around me, but I did not move. No element could move me, no time could erase me. I was strong and eternal. Emotion was beneath me.

But reality returned, and with it, the turmoil of utter confusion. Why was I so disturbed, what was upsetting me? I didn't really know. I guess I knew, deep down, that no good would come of this, that it would just bring pain.

()()()()()()

I don't know how long I spent at Angus' stable, but after a long while, I headed back towards the castle. I took the long route, climbing up a ladder and walking along the castle walls. Night was nearing, and a mist was falling, snaking its way towards the large stone walls of the castle. On the way back, I ran into my parents, who were walking in the opposite direction. They often spent their evenings walking together, and due to our current situation, the walls were currently the best place to do so.

We drew to a halt, analysing each other. It looked like my parents were trying to come up with something to say, somehow explain to me how everything could change so quickly, try to comfort me. I didn't really want to hear it. I was about to push past when something caught my eye. My mother and father saw it too.

A man walked straight towards us, alone. He looked as if he had materialised out of the mist below. All three of us froze and stared. He strode up to us with his lanky legs, almost appearing to glide. His clothing looked like it had been made out of the forest itself, vines creeping down his arms and up his neck, framing his face. His mouse brown hair was long and straight, pulled back from his face in a tight pony-tail. We all watched his approach warily.

He stopped short in front of the wall, and looked up. I had to mask a gasp of shock when I saw his face. His ears were upright, and pointy, but that wasn't the most terrifying thing about him. His eyes were large and slanted- and they were completely black, as if his eyes consisted of one large pupil. The remaining light glinted of them, making them even more shocking. What was he? I had to stop myself from quivering.

My dad woke from his trance and turned towards one of the wall guards.

"Get some men down there now! Let's see what it wants."

The guard nodded slowly, and pulled himself away from the spectacle below, looking slightly dazed. Dad took off at run, and climbed down the nearest ladder. My mother gave me a nervous smile, then her face fell when she saw mine.

"Stay right there, don't think for a moment that you are coming!" She then picked up her skirts and followed her husband. I stood, stunned. Maybe for once I would listen to my mother.

I leaned over the wall, trying to get a better look at what was happening. I was lucky, the wind was blowing in just the right direction, meaning that what was said below made its way up the wall towards me.

My father had his sword drawn and his men quickly circled around the stranger. My mother strolled up and took her place at Fergus' side, her face composed into a regal mask.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Dad commanded, all hint of his jolly character removed from his features.

The man gave a slight smile, not looking at all fazed by the drawn weapons. He stood tall, and looked directly at my father, not even glancing at the guards.

"I am Ailis, messenger of the Un-Seelie Court. I have brought a proposal to you, from my Queen."

My mother's eyes widened in shock, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from crying out in surprise.

"I have never heard of such court," my father said in a warning voice.

"Then you are not familiar with the world of Faerie?"

"No," my father practically spat.

Faerie? Surely not, they are just myths, legends, used to explain things that we cannot explain ourselves.

"I am acquainted with the stories of the fae, and most of them end up with the human in a lot of grief. Why should we listen to anything you have to say?" Elinor inquired suspiciously.

"They are just stories," Ailis said, with dismissive flick of his hand, "we are really quite reasonable people, who just want to protect this land."

"Oh, really?" my father asked, his sword still pointed at the faerie.

"Yes, really," he replied with a cold gaze. "My queen wanted to let you know, that her armies are at your disposal, to protect Scotland from the attacks of the Vikings."

"We don't need your help."

"Oh, I think you do. What of the dragons? We fae have fought many of their type before, they would be no trouble for us."

My father's sword lowered a bit, and it looked like he was actually considering the proposal. Elinor saw this as well, and quickly turned to him.

"Fergus, he is a faerie. They are not to be trusted, it will only end in heartache."

However, Dad had stopped listening.

"Alright then, we accept your offer."

"Excellent! We do, however, require one thing in return."

"Oh?" Fergus asked, a hint of a growl in his voice, and he raised his sword again.

"Relax, all we require is the blood of a hero. I'm sure there are many of those in the Viking ranks. If you bring us one, alive, your debt will be repaid. Does that not sound reasonable?"

"I wouldn't be so sure about the hero thing," my father murmured. "I guess it does sound reasonable. Very well, if you lend us your fae army, we will bring you a hero."

"Perfect," Ailis smiled, then winked out of existence. However, just before he disappeared, he glanced up and caught my eye, a terrifying smile still pinned to his face, his teeth ragged and pointy. My heart sped in my chest- and he was gone.

There were so many things that were wrong with what just happened. I turned around and collapsed against the wall, my breathing laboured. Only one thing kept running through my mind. This is bad. This is _very _bad.

_Hiccup_

We arrived in typical Twin fashion. They thought that they should let the whole town know that they had returned, so they set light to a house, and then landed on it, causing the roof to cave in, and they fell through.

Sighing loudly, I landed nearby and watched the Twins evacuate the house, a silly grin stuck on both of their faces. Well, we certainly had the village's attention.

My father came out of our hut, his eyes searching the area. When he caught sight of Toothless, his eyes widened, and his gaze moved to find me. I gave him a small, guilty smile.

"Hiccup!" he cried, and he ran to give me one of his massive hugs.

"Dad…can't…breathe."

"Sorry son." He let me go and held me at arms-length to appraise me. "Are you all in one piece, do you still have a leg?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm fine, really."

There was a sudden loud racket behind my father, and I leant around him to see what was going on. Astrid had the Twins by the ears and was shouting at them aggressively.

"I can't believe you two would do that to me! Actually, as a matter of fact, I can. You were left in my care and you ran off like toddlers who saw a pretty butterfly! What is wrong with you!?"

"Astrid, we can explain!"

"Oh?"

"Well, err…"

"Umm…"

"We found Hiccup!" Ruffnut offered.

"Oh, really? Where is he then?" she hissed in disbelief.

I thought this was the moment where I should intercede. I stepped out from behind my father, and Toothless followed.

"Uh, hi… Astrid."

"Hiccup?!" Her eyes widened and she dropped the Twins. She walked slowly towards me, as if she were in a dream. I gave her a weak smile. She stopped in front of me.

"You're alive?"

"Umm, yeah, I'm fine."

She looked at me with wide eyes looking as if she might cry. Then they narrowed, and she gave me a very hard punch, knocking me into my father. Her rage was now focused on me.

"Your fine!? How could you do that to us!? We were so worried, and we spent every day look for you, and…" She looked at me again, and she paused. Then she gave me a hug, whispering into my ear.

"…and I missed you so much."

I hugged her back before realising that the entire village was watching us.

"Ahh, Astrid?"

She let me go, and quickly caught onto my train of thought.

"Oh, uh..." she rubbed her arm modestly and gave an embarrassed laugh. My father's booming laugh soon drowned out Astrid's, and the entire village joined in.

"I'm just glad you're safe son."

"Ahh… Dad, about that."

"Hiccup?" My Dad's eyes flashed to mine in alarm.

"No, Dad, its nothing like that."

"Hiccup," he warned, "why are you not safe?"

At this point, the Twins felt they should intervene.

"They made him jump of a cliff! We saved him," Tuffnut informed us.

"What!?"

"No Dad! It wasn't like that."

"They made you jump off a cliff? They were trying to kill you?!" His voice began to rise.

"No, I just had to climb a really tall rock, to prove my worthiness."

"That doesn't make sense. They were trying to kill you!" my father yelled.

"No, they weren't… they were just trying too… oh, this is so messed up."

"Yes, _they_ are."

"Dad! Listen to me!"

But, once again, I had lost his attention. He turned his back to me to address the large crowd, which I was pretty sure consisted of almost the entire village.

"My son has returned from the land of Scotland, safe, thanks to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but not before they tried to have my son killed! We are Vikings! Do we let them get away with this?"

"No!" the entire crowd cheered.

"No," I said to myself, cynically.

"Tomorrow morning, when the sun rises, we are going down to that horrible country, and we are going to show them that they do not want to tangle with the Hairy Hooligans!"

There was a great cheer, and I felt my face go white. Couldn't they see that this was just history repeating? Different enemy, but same Viking stubbornness.

Astrid had started cheering with them, raising her double headed axe in the air, but then she saw my face, and her cheer caught in her throat. Her eyes widened questioningly and she started walking towards me. As she passed, she gestured at me to follow.

Once we had separated ourselves from the crowd, she turned to me, grabbing my shoulders and holding me at arms-length.

"What's wrong?"

"They really weren't bad people, the Scots. They weren't that different from us, not really."

"And we're about to launch an attack on them?"

"Yeah."

"What about what the Twins said?"

"I was climbing a rock as part of an initiation, to prove that I would risk my life for peace between us. I fell."

"That doesn't make sense!"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Guess not."

She frowned at me, dropping her arms, and leaning back on her heels.

"This is a mess. You must feel terrible." She smiled mockingly.

I returned the smile, "Thank you, for summing that up."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well, we've done crazy and stupid, so how about insane?"

"I love it. But no losing limbs this time!"

"I'll try my best."

She grinned, "It's good to have you back."

We grabbed the rest of the team, who were scattered around the village, and began to formulate a plan.

**Da da da, we're dead. :D And now the poop really hits the fan. Who saw the faerie thing coming? **

** Ailis- Irish name meaning truth.**

** Un-Seelie Court- These are the bad guys. You don't want to mess with any faerie, but these guys will purposely go out of their way to hurt you. The Seelie caught is their opposing court, and they're a ****_little _****friendlier. **

** I hope that was all clear, and made sense. I apologise if I spell 'faerie' different at different times, there are so many different ways to spell it, and I confuse myself. Please review, I'd love to know your thoughts.*gives creepy grin and reclines in chair, stroking white cat deviously* **

** Bu-bye. ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I got carried away with the smaller details, i.e. a lot of this chapter didn't exist in my head until I started writing. Anyway, it was taking me so long to write this, and I thought I better update, soooo, c'est voici (here it is). **

_Merida_

When you are in a dream, you rarely know that you are dreaming. However, when you are awake, you know you are awake. But how can you be so sure that this moment is real, if you once believed your dream was real? How do I know this is not a dream?

In this dream, the first thing I noticed was the fire. It was an omnipresent force, snaking up my legs, rolling along my back, reaching for my face. It was inside me as well, in the pit of my stomach, in my head, in my heart. There was a lot of confusion and disorientation, but no pain, just a pressing sense of coldness.

There was also the everlasting feeling that something was wrong, an unrelenting power, filling my chest with panic. I was constantly turning, looking for a way out, or possibly a way in, I wasn't quite sure which. My thoughts were scattered and jagged. I kept having the unnerving sense that I was being watched, but I could not tell who it was, or where they were. I did, however, feel that they did not have good intentions towards me. I hoped for a friendly face to appear or a helping hand to reach out, but neither came.

Something snaked around my ankle, and I cried out in alarm. There was a sudden tug and I fell, flat on my back, then woke with a start. My eyes snapped open, and took a deep shaky breath as my mind raced, contemplating the dream.

Faeries. I couldn't tell at the time, but the dream was about the faeries. There was something utterly unnerving about them. They were so beautiful and gracious, but they reminded me of an elegant viper, poised to strike. They scared me witless. Mother was uneasy too. Dad may have been worried as well, in his right mind, but he was too focused on the supposed Viking attack. Even the triplets were wary of the fae, after an unfortunate accident where a faerie was the subject of a prank. If another, more coolly tempered member of the fae had not been there, I'm sure that faerie would have skinned Harris on the spot. That's not a joke.

The castle was surrounded by the creatures now. They were everywhere. The omnipresent, chilling flames.

I shook the conflicted thoughts from my mind, and slowly arose from the bed. I was not a morning person. I padded along the cold stone floor and looked out of my window. Men trained in the courtyard below, while faeries watched ominously from above. They had just appeared the morning after the deal was struck, no one knew where from, or how they got here, but they were here.

There was a sudden commotion, a cacophony of noise floating up to my window from below. I leaned further out of my window to try and find the source of the noise. When I found it, I felt a sudden rush of déjà vu. It was just like the day I was to be presented to the suitors. The three clans marched together, accompanied by various disharmonised anthems, noises and shouts. I felt myself shrink back into my room. I hadn't really seen the young lords since the Highland games, and I wasn't really keen on meeting them again now.

I cumbersomely dressed myself, taking almost no notice of what I was doing. Technically, as a princess, I was to be dressed by a lady in waiting, but I had insisted on doing it myself and, after a few aggressive arguments, I had scared off even the most insistent chambermaid.

I pulled on my riding boots, almost falling over in the process, and ran down to the front courtyard where the king and queen were already waiting to greet the clans. My mother turned when she heard the doors open.

"Ah, Merida, good. We were just- what are you wearing?"

I looked down expecting to see that, in my haste, I had put my dress on backwards, or accidently dressed myself in a ball gown. But no. I was just wearing one of my tattier riding frocks.

"What's wrong with this?"

"Oh Merida, what am I going to do with you?" She walked up and tugged on the side of my dress, trying to straighten it. She glanced up at my hair, and made a motion to start smoothing it down, before thinking better of it. Instead, she just sighed, and gently pushed my chin up.

"Remember to smile," she said in an unconvincingly cheerful voice.

I gave her a strained grin, which I'm pretty sure looked more like a grimace.

"There's a girl."

Just as my mother turned back around to face the front gate, it burst open, and the noise flooded into the courtyard. The three clans marched their way in, and my father greeted them with great gusto. I continued to stand with a polite grin plastered to my face, while the three older lords greeted my dad, wrestling each other in a brotherly fashion. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. After they greeted my father, they gave a polite bow to my mother, and then to me. They were closely followed by their sons. I nodded my head towards each of them, then let my gaze flit around the area. Of course, the fae were watching, from a distance. One even gave me a disturbing parody of a grin.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice!" Fergus cried.

"Anything to keep those cursed Vikings off our land!" Lord MacIntosh yelled back. There was a tremulous cheer as the three clans voiced their agreement.

Further pleasantries were exchanged before my mother announced a meeting in the map room, and I was left standing awkwardly in the courtyard with the three young lords, who had also been excluded from the initial meeting.

I rocked back and forth on my heels, in the progress of making the decision between fight and flight. As usual, I chose fight.

"Sooo… how are- things?"

Ailbeart MacGuffin spoke first, letting out a fluent speech consisting entirely of words no one could understand. When he saw my somewhat dazed expression, he quickly fell into silence and looked down at his hands, which he was twiddling nervously.

"Ahhh, well that's nice. What about you Alasdair?" I turned to the young MacIntosh, hoping for a slightly better answer.

"Oh, the usual, protecting the clan, fighting evil, spending some quality time with the ladies," his face contorted into what I think was meant to be a smouldering look, but looked more like he had had a stroke.

I was trying to come up with an answer to that when Gilleabart Dingwall spoke, surprising us all.

"Look, this useless banter is fun and all, but I'm cold and I think it's about time we went inside. Agreed?"

I, unsuccessfully, tried to keep my mouth from hanging open in shock. That was the most I had ever heard him talk. Ever. And he sounded normal. A bit rude maybe, but normal.

"You… you talk? Normally?" I spluttered out, ignoring my mother's every lesson in etiquette I had ever had to suffer through.

"Aye, I do, and I'm telling you right now, I'm cold."

I snapped my mouth shut, and gave the boys a strained grin, "Right then, let's head in and see what food we can find."

The boys thought that was an excellent idea, and we all walked into the castle together, MacIntosh with pride, MacGuffin shuffling timidly, Wee Dingwall with his usual look of complete boredom, and me with a slightly freaked look on my face. What else had I overlooked about these boys? I wasn't sure if I even wanted to find out.

_Hiccup_

"Now Dad, let's stop and think about this for a second. We've been through this multiple times. It often ends with you telling me I was right and that you should have listened."

I paused and looked at my father. I was once again practising the hopeless task that was changing his mind.

"Vikings don't think, we act," he replied as he moved about the room, preparing for the supposed trip.

"And there's our problem," I exhaled tiresomely, and leant against a wall.

"Look, Hiccup, we'll just show up, knock them round a bit, give them a bit of a scare with the dragons then head home."

"Somehow I don't think it will work that way."

At this point, Gobber strode in, giving a brief nod to me before turning to Stoick. "You sure you want to do this Stoick? Seems a bit of a waste of time if you ask me."

"Yes, I'm sure!" Dad growled.

Gobber eyed Stoick carefully and then shrugged indifferently. "If you say so. Whatever you do, I'll be beside you."

"Hmm, yes, you do have a nasty habit of following me."

"Must be your charm."

"Indeed, or maybe it's just so you can hide behind me."

"Never!" Gobber scoffed, and the two men chuckled to themselves.

"Come on, it'll be a bit of fun, show those wussy Highlanders who's boss."

Gobber gave another chuckle. "Can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see the dragons."

I interrupted their bantering, still hopelessly trying to change their minds. "We may have dragons, but they have their own creatures, that may not be so happy about us attacking their land."

I have to admit, I was scrabbling a bit, and I think Dad could tell.

"Oh really Hiccup?" Stoick sighed.

"Yes, they have faeries, trolls, selkies!"

"Phhh, legends."

"Trolls exist! They steal your socks!" Gobber piped up.

"But only the left ones." Stoick groaned, rolling his eyes.

"What's with that?" Gobber and I added at the same time, laughing at Dad's screwed up face.

"Look, whether trolls exist or not, we are going forward with this trip."

"I thought as much," I grumbled, before heading up to my room.

"Where are you going?" Stoick called.

"To pack my things," I replied as I climbed up the steps. Well now I had at least tried. Time to initiate Plan B.

When I got up stairs, I gathered some things, being a bit more careful this time, not feeling so hurried. I was about to turn and leave, when I saw my dragon armour on the desk. I paused, considering for a moment, then went back to put it on. If there would ever be a time to use it, now would be it. I tucked the helmet under my arm, then whistled to Toothless, and together we snuck out of my window.

The rest of the gang were waiting for me on a cliff's edge. Well, most of the gang.

When I pulled next to Astrid turned to ask, "Where's Sn…"

There was a huge raw and a tree crashed down next to us.

"I'm here, I'm here. No need to worry your petty little faces." Snotlout had arrived.

Astrid and I turned and gave each other knowing looks, then focused back on the task at hand.

"Okay. Surprise, surprise, Dad is still launching an attack on DunBroch. So, has everybody packed everything they need?"

"Yup."

"Check."

"Yes."

"Hang on- I forgot the chicken!" Tuffnut cried.

"Awww, you idiot!" Ruff crowed, back handing Tuff in the head.

I inwardly groaned. "_Smoked_ chicken, I hope."

"We can smoke it if you want," Tuffnut suggested, "but we need to catch it first."

"We don't need the- oh, Oden's beard," I rubbed my forehead with my hand, already feeling worn out. The Twins had jumped off their dragon and started to run back towards the village.

Those of us who remained waited in an awkward silence, wondering if one of us should take the risk of chasing after them. But before anyone could say anything, they came back, with Ruffnut holding a rather confused brown and white speckled hen.

"Hey guys, meet Olga."

"Ruff, Tuff, we really don't need to take a chicken with us."

"Yes we do. Olga's our good luck charm."

"Do I even want to ask?" Astrid moaned.

"No, seriously, we found this chicken in the middle of our living room-"

"As you do," Astrid sighed.

"-so we both patted it on the head-"

"As you do," I added.

"-before sending it outside. Just as we did, the brilliantly disastrous idea came to us, at the same time, and from then on, we named thee, Olga, our lucky chicken."

"Do we want to know what this brilliantly disastrous idea is?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know about you, but I do," Snotlout said, looking around at the rest of the group.

"Well-"

"No! We don't have time. We need to move, now!" I interrupted.

"Fine, no need to get so grouchy," Snotlout grumbled. He leaned over to the Twins, "Tell me on the way."

"Come on gang, let's go."

"Wait!" Tuffnut shouted. "We all need to pat the lucky chicken's head first!" He held Olga up to me, and I sighed in frustration, but gave in and patted the chicken's head, the hen looking extremely unsettled.

Tuffnut went around the group and, grudgingly, everyone patted the chicken's head. However, when Tuffnut got to Astrid, she refused.

"This is ridiculous, and besides, the poor chicken is frightened half to death."

"Her name is Olga," Tuffnut said defensively.

"Whatever," Astrid rolled her eyes.

Looking slightly hurt, Tuffnut returned to his dragon. Ruffnut patted Olga on the head in support of her brother, before Tuffnut tucked Olga into a little satchel, which he then hung round his shoulder and onto his back, so the chicken could stick its head out and look around. These happenings felt almost normal now-a-days, which was slightly worrying on my behalf.

"Okay, that's done. Can we go now?"

"Sure! All set," Tuffnut nodded.

"Finally!" Astrid cried as she gleefully rode Stormfly into the sky.

I led the group in the right direction and, at first, they followed me happily, but then Astrid's face grew stormy, and that's when I began to worry. Eventually, I worked up the courage to ask.

"What's the matter?"

"This is South-West, yes?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"You told Stoick that Scotland was North-West. I have spent the last few days looking for you- IN THE COMPLETELY WRONG DIRECTION!"

"Sorry?"

"Argh!" she cried at me, then pulled Stormfly up higher, so she was concealed by clouds.

I looked down at Toothless and he gave a soft moan. Girls.

_Merida_

I drummed my fingers on the table, staring up at the roof in utter boredom. The three boys sat around the table with me, all with similar expressions on their faces.

"Errgh! How long are they going to take?!" I exclaimed, throwing my head on the table, which kind of hurt.

I lifted my head again and rubbed it tiresomely, screwing up my face in annoyance. I looked at the others. Ailbeart MacGuffin was contritely picking his nails, Alasdair MacIntosh absently blowing his dark locks out of his eyes, and I'm pretty sure Wee Dingwall was asleep. Well, he was drooling anyway. I made a little thinking noise, then eyed the three lords again.

"Right!" They all jumped and looked at me expectantly. As it turned out, Gilleabart had been sleeping. "How about we get out of here. Have our own adventure?"

"I don't know," Gilleabart drawled dryly, "I seem to recall your adventures didn't go so well for your entourage."

I shot him a disbelieving look. "Who _are _you?"

"Gilleabart Dingwall, _your Highness._"

I shook my head, then looked at the other two. "Are you in?"

Alasdair shrugged. "Why not?"

We turned to Ailbeart, and he seemed to crack under the pressure of having three pairs of eyes on him. Not that any of us could understand his confession. In the end, he just shrugged.

I beamed at them. "Great!" Then I sighed and turned to Gilleabart, "And what about you?"

"I guess so, nothing better to do."

He was really starting to annoy me.

"Fine then. Let's go."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Alasdair asked.

"Easy," I replied. "Boys!"

There was a short pause, then the three little balls of energy came rushing up to us in their usual manner. The boys never spoke, but I had the feeling they could if they wanted to, it's just that they can make themselves perfectly clear without speaking, so why waste the energy?

"Oh no, not these guys," Gilleabart said in horror.

"They're our way out. Do you have a problem with that?" I glared at him pressingly.

Dingwall eyed the boys warily, then gave a nonchalant shrug.

I bent down to the boys and gave them a serious look, "We need to get out of here. Do you have any ideas?"

They looked at each other questioningly, then gave a brief nod.

"The price?"

They gave each other another glance, then held up a picture that Hamish pulled out of his kilt. I had to narrow my eyes to decipher it. It was a picture of a winged beast.

"A dragon? You want me to get you a dragon?"

They nodded and clapped excitedly. I groaned. How was I going to get out of this one?

"Fine, I'll get you you're dragon. Just get us out of here."

As the triplets led us out of the room, Gilleabart fell into step beside me.

"A dragon, eh? Want to tell me what that's about?"

I sighed wearily. "It's a long story."

"I'm listening."

**So, as many before me, I've had to name the three young lords. I chose names that are sort of recognisable, but are still Scottish. This is roughly what they mean.**

**Ailbeart- noble and bright**

**Alasdair- man's defender**

**Gilleabart- pledge**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and I would like to believe the next chapter will be very interesting. Thank you! Please review! Constructive criticism is welcome. **


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